Hello
by Dark Shadow In The Night
Summary: What if Jeb didn't get the Flock out of The School? What if The School got to them first?  Max P.O.V. for the most part. MAJOR FAX in later chapters plus some other pairings.  Sorry i suck at summaries and a summary would give away too much of this story.
1. Taken

**Hello, I am Dark Shadow In The Night.**

**This story is about the flock, only, what if Jeb never rescued them?**

**What if they were sent out by the School before Jeb could get them out?**

**I hope you enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: as you all know I don't own any of the **_**Maximum Ride**_** characters or any part of the story. I only own what comes out of my mind.**

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><p><strong>Location: The School<strong>

**Date: November 1****st****, 1999**** (How many of you know that **_**The Angel Experiment**_** took place in 2005? So do the math, 2005 – 14 = 1991 so Max, Fang, and Iggy were created in 1991. Well, unless Max was created in the fall or winter of '91 and Fang and Iggy were created in the spring or summer of '92 or—wait I'm starting to sound like Nudge… sorry 'bout that. Well back to the story! **(Which hasn't even started yet…)**)**

I sat as far back in my cage as I could. I pulled my knees to my chest and played with my hair. It was dark in the room, but thanks to my enhanced vision I could see every detail of the little black girl in the cage across from mine. Her tawny wings were folded around her, like she was trying to stay warm. The room was a little chilly…

I looked in the cage next to hers and saw a little blond haired toddler sleeping on the floor of his cage. To my right a tall, thin boy with strawberry blond hair and crystal blue eyes was looking at me. He smiled a little when he saw me looking at him. I smiled back and looked to my left. In that cage a dark haired boy about my age with eyes so dark I couldn't see his pupils. He saw me looking at him and the corner of his mouth twitched into a smile, but it was gone in the next second. This boy never talked much and he never seemed to want to show emotion.

Then again, none of us really talked that much.

"Are you cold Nudge?" I asked the girl in the cage across from me.

"A little…" she said shivering a bit.

"Pull your wings tighter around you. It'll keep you warmer"

She did and thanked me. I smiled at her. I really loved these four kids. They were the only ones like me. Well that I knew of. All of us had wings. We were all part bird.

The little blond toddler woke up and started crying.

"Don't cry Gaz, what's wrong?" I asked him softly.

"I-I had a bad dream!" Gaz cried.

"Aw… I'm sorry. Do you wanna talk about it?" I asked him.

He shook his little blond head and curled up trying to keep warm.

"I wish they would turn the heat up in here…"

I looked to my left surprised. He actually talked!

"… Did Fang just talk?" the boy to my right said.

"Shut up Iggy." Fang said.

"Wow. What's the occasion?" Iggy asked.

"I said shut up."

"Hey that's the most he's ever talked!" Iggy laughed.

"You're lucky I'm in a cage Strawberry."  
>"I could take you any day Blackberry."<p>

The boys reached through the sides of their cages and into mine trying to grab each other. I sighed and grabbed their arms, pulling down until they said uncle. I was NOT amused.

"That's enough boys." I let go of their arms.

They both pulled back into their cages.

"Sorry Max…" they said at the same time.

I sat back and smirked a bit.

The door opened and all of us, including Fang, shot to the back of our cages, trying to hide in the shadows. A man in a white lab coat walked in carrying a small cage. I heard crying coming from it. He set it down and called for someone to come in. A big hulking Eraser blocked the light coming in from the hallway as he entered the room.

The White Coat gave it an order, "Pick up this cage and move it over there." He pointed at Iggy's and then pointed next to Gazzy's.

Iggy cried out when the Eraser roughly picked up his cage then dropped it next to Gazzy's.

The White Coat set the little cage right next to mine. It was so close the sides were pressed up against each other. I looked into the cage. A little bundle of blankets shifted and a little head covered in blond curls poked out. It was a little girl; she couldn't have been more than a year old. She opened her eyes and looked at me. Her eyes were the same blue as Gazzy's. She looked at the White Coat, looked right in his eyes. I thought that was weird, considering how little she was. The White Coat's eyes went unfocused and he got this blank look. He shook his head and opened the little girl's cage. He took her out then opened my cage. I pushed against the back of my cage, expecting him to reach in and pull me out. But instead, he held the little bundle of blankets that the girl was in out to me. I just looked at him confused. He made the 'go on, take it' motion. I slowly crawled forward and took her from him. He closed the cage and left the room with the Eraser.

I looked down at the little girl in my arms. She looked up at me and smiled. I couldn't help but smile back. She was just so darn cute. I could feel the others staring at me and I looked up. The little girl sat up on my lap and looked around at everyone.

"Aw… she's adorable!" Nudge squealed.

"That was just weird…" Iggy said.

"The way that White Coat acted?" Fang asked him.

Iggy nodded.

Gazzy went to the front of his cage and tried to see the little girl.

"I want to see her!" he said.

I held the little girl up and she giggled when she saw everyone looking at her.

"She looks like you Gazzy!" Nudge said giggling a bit.

Everyone was a little bubbly right now. It wasn't often that someone new was put in here. The White Coats never put us in the same cage so this was really really weird.

"You're right nudge!" Gazzy laughed.

I set the girl back down in my lap and unwrapped most of the blankets that were keeping her from moving freely. When I saw her wings I smiled and laughed a little. They were so small, they looked like chicken wings. I heard Fang chuckle and I looked at him. He was smiling a little bit. The chuckle almost gave me a heart attack but him smiling? My heart just about stopped from the shock. The little girl flapped her wings a bit and hovered about two inches off my lap. Everyone stared at her amazed. None of us were able to do that.

"What should we call her?" Iggy asked to no one in particular.

Everyone just shrugged. I couldn't help but think that her pure white wings reminded me of something our only White Coat friend here told us. His name is Jeb, and yeah, he's a White Coat, but he's different. He's nice to us and even lets us out to play with his son, Ari. Jeb had told us about these things called angels. He said that some people who believe in a person called God also believed in angels because they were God's servants. He said that angels looked like people only they had wings like us and that they lived in a place called Heaven.

"Angel!" the little girl said clapping her hands.

All of us said nothing for a minute. We were too surprised to do anything other than stare.

"Well, I guess she named herself. Angel it is." Fang said smiling.

Angel looked at me and giggled. I smiled at her. I was a little weirded (is that a word?) out that she said that right after I thought it, but whatever.

"Max!" Angel said pointing at me, "Fang!" she said pointing at Fang.

I looked at Fang stunned. How the heck was she doing that? Neither of us knew the answer.

After we got use to Angel and her weird way of saying things we were thinking we all started talking and trying to make her laugh, which wasn't hard. Pretty much everything we did make her laugh like a lunatic. Iggy tried making a joke and Angel stopped laughing. That made the rest of us laugh harder.

"White Coat! Bad! Iggy!" Angel cried right before the door opened.

All of us shot to the backs of our cages. I wrapped Angel in her blankets and held her to my chest trying to protect her in case they tried to take her. A White Coat came in with a cart on wheels. The kind they used when they were taking one of the bigger cages like the ones Fang, Iggy, and I were in. An Eraser came in behind the White Coat.

"We need that one." The White Coat said pointing at Iggy's cage.

As the Eraser picked up Iggy's cage we all shouted and screamed for them to leave him alone. Angel started crying and the Eraser fumbled and dropped Iggy's cage. Unfortunately he dropped him onto the cart. The White Coat wheeled the cart out and the Eraser stumbled out after him.

Gazzy and Nudge started crying. I had a hard time holding back tears. Angel balled and I hugged her. I looked over at Fang. He didn't show any emotion. He was struggling to stop his feelings from showing. I could tell. It was always like this when one of us got taken. After a long time Gaz and Nudge stopped crying and curled up to go to sleep. It took longer for me to get Angel to calm down, but eventually she fell asleep. I laid her down on the floor of our cage using a blanket as a pillow for her. I stretched and yawned.

"You should get some sleep Max." Fang said softly.

I shook my head. "I'm fine. You sleep. You were up all last night."

"And you were too. That made it three nights in a row. Sleep."

We went back and forth like this for a bit but he won in the end. I laid down next to Angel and closed my eyes. I was so worried about Iggy that I thought I wouldn't fall asleep tonight. But fatigue won out in the end and I was asleep within a minute.

I woke up what seemed to be only a second later to Angel screaming and crying. I immediately picked her up and rocked her. Fang jumped and looked around. Seemed like he had fallen asleep too. Nudge and Gazzy woke up and looked around sleepily.

"White Coats! Bad! Max! Gone!" Angels cried. She grabbed onto my hand and held it tightly.

I looked at Fang. I saw worry in his dark eyes and I knew he could see the fear in mine.

"That's what she did before they took Iggy…" Nudge said, her voice quivering.

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><p><strong>Well I hope you guys like this first chapter! I know a cliffy on the first sucks but hey, that means that there's going to be more! So if you guys want to complain or comment leave me a review!<strong>

**P.S. scroll down. Just trust me on this and keep going down.**

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><p><strong>Just kidding! Chapters not over yet! <strong>

Before anyone could do anything else the door flew open and two White Coats walked in. They opened my cage and grabbed me. They pulled me out of my cage and dropped me to the floor. Fang was throwing himself at the door of his cage trying to get out and screaming for them to leave me alone. One of them grabbed my arm and yanked me to my feet. Or at least he tried to. He got me half way up when Angel bit his hand, hard. He cried out and dropped me again. The other White Coat grabbed Angel and ripped her away from me. He hit Fangs cage right as Fang was throwing himself at the door and stunned him. The White Coat opened the door and threw Angel inside locking the door before Fang could do anything. Both of them focused their attention back on me. The whole time I had been sneaking towards Nudge's cage. One of them grabbed me while the other injected something into my arm. I tried to fight back but whatever they gave me was working fast. The room started spinning and everything got really fuzzy. I saw Fang yelling something but I couldn't tell what. Everything went black and I heard one thing before all of my senses shut down. I heard what Fang had been yelling.

"MAX!"

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><p><strong>Ok chapters really over now. This one's not I joke I swear! I hope you guys like it! Even though it's a cliffy. I'm going to update as soon as I can.<strong>

**FYI it's going to be a little confusing for the next two or three chapters. I'll do my best to explain why in the next chapter. Can't do it here since it'll give away some stuff.**

**Until I post again,**

**Dark Shadow In The Night **


	2. The Operation

**Hello! Next chapter already! Enjoy!**

**P.S. if you have any questions feel free to ask!**

**P.P.S. (or is it P.S.S. ?) HUGE SHOCK COMING UP! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.**

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><p>I opened my eyes then closed them right away. The light above me was blinding. I wanted to curl up and go back to sleep but a familiar voice woke me up a little bit more.<p>

"Max, wake up honey, it's over now."

"… Mom…?" I groaned. My head was throbbing and my back ached.

"I'm right here dear." I felt someone take my hand.

I forced my eyes open and blinked in the bright light. When the room came into focused I looked at who was holding my hand. My mom smiled at me and I smiled back sleepily.

I loved how my mom looked. To me she was the prettiest mom on the planet. She had blond hair that was curly at the ends and big blue eye that sparkled with life. She was thin like me and she wasn't very tall but that didn't matter.

I looked around the room. I was in a hospital room. It was all white and had that chemical smell. The smell made my skin crawl but I didn't know why. A monitor beeped softly behind me. I guessed the wires that were taped to my chest were connected to it. I saw my dad and my brother and sister coming down the hall through the open door.

My dad was tall, about 6ft 3 I think, with dark brown hair and eyes. His eyes always seemed to smile. My little brother was three and he looked just like my mom. My little sister was 5 and looked just like my dad.

I sat up and saw I had an IV in my arm. I had cried so much before when they tried to put it in so they waited until I went to sleep with help from their special gas. I really don't like needles…

My dad, brother, and sister came in the room. Dad smiled at me while my brother and sister shouted hi. My parents told them not to be so loud and I laughed. Like that would ever happen. They only had two volume settings. High and off. They were only silent when they were asleep. We all talked for a bit, and then the doctor came in. My mom stood up and so did my dad. They asked the doctor some questions but I didn't really listen. I was starting to fall back asleep.

I was drifting away when the Doc had to ruin it and wake me up.

"Hello Max, how do you feel?" he asked me.

"Tired…" I mumbled.

He chuckled, "That's a side effect of the anesthesia. You should feel more a wake in a little bit. Now, you had a big operation, so I'm just going to ask you a few question, ok?"

I nodded.

"Please tell me your full name."

"Maxine Rebecca Ride."

"Do you know where you are?"

"A special medical facility in Death Valley called The School."

"What's today's date?"

"It's November 1st, 2000"

"How old are you?"

"Eight. I'll be nine in nine days."

"What are the names of your family?"

"My mom's name is Sandy and my dad's name is Rob. My brother is Jakob and my sister is Alex."

"How long ago were you adopted by the Ride family?"

"One year ago tomorrow."

"Where were you before you were adopted?"

"The Wilson County Children's Home in California."

"Good, well it looks like you're going to be just fine. Nothing's messed up in here." The doctor smiled and poked my forehead.

I giggled because I knew that's what he wanted me to do. Honestly this guy gave me the creeps.

"Will she make a full recovery Dr. Batchelder?" My dad asked him.

"Please, call me Jeb. And yes, I believe she will completely recover. After this operation her school life should be much easier."

"Thank you so much Doctor." Mom said. She thanked him over and over again. That was typical of my mom.

"May I speak with you in the hallway for a moment?" Dr. Jeb asked my parents.

They nodded and followed him into the hall. I laid back and closed my eyes. I was just pretending to be asleep. I was really listening to my parents talking out in the hall.

"—the Memory Wipe and replacement seems to be holding strong. You haven't seen any signs of a relapse have you?" I heard Jeb say.

"No." Dad said.

"She's followed the false memories just as you said she would." Mom said.

_False memories…? What the heck are they talking about…?_ I thought.

"Good. So you haven't seen any sign that she remembers this place or the others?" Jeb asked. He sounded tense.

"None at all." I heard mom say. She sounded pleased.

_I've been here before…? No… the first time I heard about this place was when they asked me if I wanted the operation. Others… do they mean there's others out there like me…?_

A memory fragment slowly dragged itself to the front of my conscious. In my mind's eye I saw a dark room and cages. There were people in the cages. No, they were kids… and they were like me! I couldn't remember much about the kids, except for one. A boy. He had dark hair and dark wings. But that was all I could remember.

I opened my eyes as my parents came back into the room. The memory had freaked me out, but I decided not to tell them about it. Not after what I had heard them say to the doctor in the hallway.

"Well Max, you're clear to go back home at five, so you just have to wait a few more hours ok? Why don't you get some rest 'til then? " Jeb said from the door way.

I nodded and closed my eyes.

While I slept I had nightmares.

In one, I was strapped down to a table while these guys in white lab coats poked and prodded me.

In another I was trapped in a cage. The other kids from the memory bit were there too. They were in cages just like me. I could see a few more details about them. They all had different color hair and wings. One boy who looked about my age had strawberry blond hair, crystal blue eyes, and pale skin. A girl who was a bit younger than me was black with dark hair and brown eyes. There was a little boy with pale skin, but not as pale as the strawberry blond haired boy, and bright blue eyes. The last kid there was the boy with dark hair and wings. His eyes were so dark they looked black. I couldn't tell where iris ended and pupil started. He seemed to smile when he saw me. He said something but I couldn't hear what.

When I woke up I was in the back seat of our van.

"Did you have a good nap?" my dad asked when he saw I was awake.

"Yep." I lied. For some reason, I didn't feel like I could trust my parents as much now.

"We'll be home in about five minutes." Mom said from the driver's seat.

I nodded and spent the rest of the car ride thinking about the dreams I had had.

Once we were home I went straight to the bathroom.

I peeled the bandages off my back and looked over my shoulder at the reflection of my back in the mirror.

I saw nothing but smooth skin.

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><p><strong>Oooooooo another cliffy! Hope you guys like it! I promise to post a.s.a.p.!<strong>

**FYI I'm trying not to post unless I have the next one done in case I hit writers block. **

**Until next time;**

**Dark Shadow In The Night **


	3. Nick

**Hello! I'm back!**

**Hope you enjoy this chapter!**

**BTW**

_Italics = Max's thougths_

_**Bolded Italics = a mysterious character who we have yet to meet who speaks to Max in her mind. Almost like The Voice **_

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><p>I looked out the window as my mom pulled the car up to a ten story building. The plaque on the side read 'Grant tower'. I pulled my ear buds out and turned my iPod off as my mom got out of the car and went inside. I got out and started to take my stuff out of the trunk. My dad, brother, and sister got out of the car and tried to help but I waved them away.<p>

"I'm 18 almost 19. I can handle this myself." I said as I pulled out my last suitcase.

My dad sighed, "I know…I just don't want to let my little girl go off to collage yet." He hugged me. Right in front of all the other people.

"Dad come on! You said you weren't going to do this!" I said trying to wiggle out of his hug.

"I know, I know, but it's just so hard to let you go." He let me go and wiped his eyes.

I sighed.

Mom came out with papers and a set of keys in her hands.

"Well here's everything you going to need," she said handing me the papers and keys. "You're on the ninth floor in room 906, you have three other roommates and the key to the building is the silver one and the key to your room is the gold one. This is a map of the campus and this is your schedule."

"Thanks mom." I smiled.

"You sure you have everything you need? Your—"

I cut her off before she could go into a list of things that would probably embarrass me further.

"Yes mom." I hugged her. "Thanks for driving me up here."

She hugged me back. "You're welcome honey, I know you're going to do just fine here."

I smiled and hugged everyone one more time.

"I'll drive your car up here as soon as it's out of the shop." Dad said when I hugged him.

"Thanks dad,"

They all got into the car and I waved as they drove off. I picked up my stuff and headed into the building.

I walked over to the elevator and pushed the button. When it got there a woman, no, I'm not going to call her that. She doesn't deserve it. A girl walked out on her cell phone and ran right into me. We both fell to the floor. She hung up her phone and started screaming at me.

"What the hell are you doing! What are you? Retarded or something? Don't you know you get out of peoples way when they're walking! Especially when they're better then you? " She got up and walked away muttering names under her breath.

I got up and picked up my stuff.

"Bitch…" I said under my breath.

I got into the elevator and took it up to the ninth floor. I roamed the halls looking for my room. When I finally found it I had a bit of difficulty getting my keys out. I ended up dropping half my stuff. When I finally opened the door I dragged my stuff in. The room was big and open. The first thing I noticed were the four beds, one bare, one pink, one white, and one black. The wall by each of the three beds that were taken were covered in pictures and posters. The pink one had mostly family pictures and boy band posters. The black one had a lot of drawings on it and Goth band posters. The white one had almost nothing on it, just a few written pages of what looked like poetry and a few sketches. I didn't see anyone so I called out.

"Hello? Is anyone here?"

Nothing responded so I guessed I was alone. I went to the unoccupied bed and set my stuff down.

As I unpacked I look around the room. There was a mini fridge tucked away in a corner half hidden by boxes, bags, clothes (probably dirty…), and other things. It was by the black bed, so go figure. We weren't supposed to have any food in our dorms or any food containers or storage things unless it was for medical purposes. Ok that sounds really stereo typical but hey, I was raised in L.A. and even though they tried to teach us not to think like that, they pretty much failed.

I pulled my dark blue sheets out of a bag and put them on the bed. I wondered what my roommates were like. Judging by their beds one was a Goth, one was probably blond emo, and the other was a pretty girl. I remembered the girl I ran into, no who ran into me, coming out of the elevator. I stopped unpacking and shuddered. I prayed to every god and supernatural all powerful being that I'd ever heard of that she wasn't one of my roommates.

I heard a key in the lock and people talking. I stood up; I had been unpacking my clothes and putting them in a little dresser by my bed. The door opened and two girls about my age walked in. They stopped when they saw me. One was dressed in black shirt and pants, and had piercings in her ears and her lip. She had on dark purple eye shadow and black lipstick. She was tan and fairly tall. Her hair was dyed black with long blond roots. Her eyes were a brilliant electric blue.

The other girl was wearing a loose white shirt and tan shorts. She wasn't wearing any makeup that I could see. She had light gold/brown/grey eyes and long, I mean really long, like almost to the floor in a ponytail, pale blond hair. I wasn't sure if she dyed it or not. She was tall as well. Almost as tall as me, and I'm 6'2 1/2.

"Um, hi, I'm Max, your new roommate." I said nervously. I raised my hand in a little wave.

I was trying to be friendly, but I always seemed to make enemies more than friends. The elevator girl for instance. Not that I would want to be friends with someone like her any ways…

The girl in black smiled. "Hi, I'm Lizzy. Nice to meet you." She held out her hand and I shook it.

_So far so good…_ I thought.

Lizzy elbowed the other girl and she just nodded at me after elbowing Lizzy back.

"This is Jenifer. She doesn't talk much. But don't worry, after she gets use to you she start talking." Lizzy said rubbing her arm.

"Nice to meet you guys." I looked over at the pink bed, "So we have another roommate right?"

"Yeah. Her name's Macy. She should be back soon." Lizzy said. Judging by the look on her face when she said Macy I could tell she didn't like her very much.

Jenifer groaned when she heard Macy was going to be here soon. "I spend most of my time trying to avoid her. She practically lives in Nick's dorm. Why don't they just move her in there?"

I was surprised. We'd been in here less than two minutes and Jenifer was already talking around me. I figured that was a good sign.

"Because it's wrong to punish him if he hasn't done anything wrong. Besides, we need him to get us to the championship game." Lizzy said. She almost sounded like she was a teacher talking to a kindergartener.

I didn't know what they were talking about so I didn't say anything.

"D'you want some help unpacking?" Lizzy asked.

"Um, if you guys really want to help, sure."

They both helped me unpack the rest of my stuff and we were done in about five minutes.

We each sat on our own beds (Lizzy's was the black and Jenifer's was the white one. Go figure.) and talked.

"So what are you guys into?" I asked them.

"I like tech and art. I sell a lot of my art online and ship it to whoever buys it. It's a pretty good way to make some extra cash." Lizzy said while handing me one of her drawings. It was a black and white picture of a wolf howling at the moon.

"That's awesome. I wish I could draw…" I chuckled and handed the picture back then turned to Jenifer. "What about you Jenifer?"

"I draw and write. I also like to work in the auto garage and in the craft shop. And you can just call me Jen if you want."

I smiled, "Cool."

"How about you Max?" Jen asked.

"I like to write and fly. But mostly I'm into sports."

Lizzy's jaw dropped. "You know how to fly?"

"Yeah, I was in Jr. Air Force ROTC in high school and they taught us how to fly. I'm licensed and I know a guy who lets me go up in his planes whenever I want. I can take you guys up sometime if you want."

"Really?" Jen asked. She looked really excited.

"Sure. How about next weekend?"

"AWESOME!" They both shouted. I grinned and laughed. It felt good to have friends.

"So do you guys do any sports?" I asked after they calmed down enough to speak.

"Not really. We got to the football games though." Liz said.

"Cool. Then you guys will probably be watching me play this year."

"You play football?" Jen asked surprised. "I thought you'd be more of a Basketball or track girl. You're so tall and skinny."

"Yeah a lot of people say that. Just because I weigh like 120 they think I'd get smashed in football."

This time both their jaws hit the floor.

"You only weigh 120? How?" Jen asked.

"No idea. I've been a feather weight all my life."

Lizzy laughed.

"Well Macy's not gunna like it if you make it on the team. Her boyfriend Nick's the Captain and the QB."

"She won't have to worry. I'm not that into dating right now." I laughed.

"You haven't seen Nick yet. He's the school hottie that EVERY girl wants." Jen had a dreamy look on her face.

I laughed. "At my high school it was a guy named John Johnson. He was so full of himself. I kicked him in the nuts one time because he tried to grab my ass. Several times."

They laughed. We must have talked for half an hour before we heard the door open. I jumped off my bed as the girl came around the corner.

"YOU!" She screamed when she saw me.

"Yes me. I'm your new roommate." I smirked. Well if I was going to be stuck with her as a roommate I was at least going to give her hell since it seemed like no one else had the balls to. It was the same bitch that ran into me in the elevator.

"I AM NOT SHARING A ROOM WITH YOU! IT WAS BAD ENOUGH WITH THESE FREAKS!"

"Where you born with that stick up your ass or did you get it implanted like your boobs and your ass?"

Her face turned bright red and she tried to say something but it came out sounding like gibberish. She turned and stormed out of the room shouting, "I AM NOT GOING TO PUT UP WITH THIS!"

I laughed as the door slammed. Jen and Liz were staring at me.

"DAMN GIRL! You got attitude!" Liz laughed.

"I don't think I've ever seen someone stand up to Macy." Jen mock bowed to me. "Thank you slayer of evil stuck up rich bitches!"

That made all of us laugh harder.

We talked for a while longer before I got up and stretched. "I think I'll go have a look around campus. What time is curfew?" I asked looking at my phone's clock. It was already 4.

"We're not supposed to leave our buildings after 9 but our building head doesn't really care. But if you are out past then watch out for the CP." Lizzy said.

"Thanks, I'll see you guys later then." I waved as I headed for the door.

Once I got into the hallway I headed for the stairs. I pushed open the heavy door with ease, but I felt it hit something on the other side and I heard a thud as someone fell. I swore and quickly hurried into the stairwell. On the other side of the door a tall, tall, guy, I'm serious, he was like 6'6, with black hair, olive skin, and eyes so dark that I couldn't see his pupils, was sitting on the floor holding his nose. Blood was gushing out from between his fingers. I knelt next to him swearing and apologizing.

"Shit I am so sorry!"

"It's ok. It was an accident." His voice was deep and a little ruff.

He looked up at me. I saw a flicker of… something in his eyes. I thought it was surprise but I hadn't the slightest clue why he'd be surprised. I searched the pockets of my cargo pants for a packet of tissues my mom gave me before I got here. I pulled them out and ripped the packet open. I pulled out all the tissues and gave them to him.

He chuckled. "Thanks." He pressed the tissues to his nose.

"I am so, so, sorry… I didn't expect anyone to be on the other side…" I apologized again.

He laughed. "No one expects the unexpected." He pulled the bloody mass of what use to be tissues away from his nose. It had already stopped bleeding. "So I'm guessing you're new to campus?"

"Yeah," I said a little surprised, "how did you know?"

"Anyone else who lives on this campus had hit me with the door they'd be apologizing one hundred times more then you already have." He chuckled and stood up.

I got up too.

"My name is Max. I just got here about two hours ago." Again, I saw that flicker in his eyes.

"I'm Nick." He smiled then laughed. "Why the 'Oh fuck' look?"

"You wouldn't happen to be the captain of the football team would you…?" I asked hesitantly.

"Yeah."

Great. I probably just ruined my chances of making the team. Slamming a door into the face of the team captain was not going to get me any points on his good side.

"Is there a reason you want to know?" He asked.

Would I have asked if I didn't?

"I was thinking about joining the team…" I said blushing a bit.

He chuckled. "Well if you're any good you might just make it."

I looked up surprised. He didn't seem to mad at me at all.

"You should probably go get cleaned up…" I said looking at his blood covered hands and face.

"You're right. My dorms just one floor up. You want to come with me and then I'll show you around campus?"

I was shocked. 1) The hottest and most wanted guy who already had a girlfriend just invited me to go to his room and then to show me around campus after I slammed a door in his face. 2) I was actually excited. That surprised me the most.

I nodded without thinking. He smiled and led me up stairs to his room. He had one of the double dorms instead of a quad. His roommate came out of the bathroom in a towel as we came in the room. I blushed and looked away from him. He was tall and had long blond hair. His blue eyes looked me up and down.

"Damn Nick, another one? What you get bored of Macy?" he said smirking.

"Shut up Derek. She's just a friend who's new here." Nick said pushing past Derek into the bathroom.

"So you knew her before she came here? And what the hell happened to you man? She slam a door in your face or something?" Derek asked laughing.

"One, it's none of your god damn business. Two, that's exactly what happened."

Derek laughed harder. "And you still brought her here?" he turned to me, "So if you're not with Nick are you single?"

"I am, but you're not my type." I smirked at him.

"Damn. Hey Nick, I like this one better than Macy. She's not as much of a bitch."

Nick came out of the bathroom free of blood. "I know. But I've got Macy. For the time being anyways." He and Derek shared a look and Derek laughed.

I had no clue what silent message passed between them but I really didn't care.

"Come on Max, I'll show you around now." Nick said as he headed for the door.

I nodded and followed him. First he took me on a tour of the building that was close to Grant Tower. Then he took me back up to his room to grab some things. I didn't go in this time. When he came out he had two helmets and a set of keys. I had to try really hard to stop my jaw from dropping. I just met the guy like half an hour ago by slamming a door in his face and he was already taking me for a ride on his motorcycle? Wait, motorcycle? He had a motorcycle? I guess it kinda fit him but seriously? He was the same age as me and his parents got him a motorcycle? I had to fight to get a car for my 17th birthday!

"You ever been on a bike before?" he asked tossing me a helmet. His was black and the one he gave me was dark blue, my favorite color…

"No."

He smiled, "Alright, I'll show you how."

We headed down stairs and he led me over to the parking lot. He stopped in front of a tarp covered bike parked next to a black Chevy Camaro. He pulled the tarp off his bike. It was a Kawasaki, and a nice one at that. He went over to the Camaro and unlocked the passenger side door. He threw the tarp in and closed and locked the car back up.

My jaw dropped. "You have a bike and a Camaro?"

"Yeah, my parents are kinda rich." He shrugged.

I was going to say something like 'kinda?' but he started his bike. He waved me over and I got on. I was sitting right up against him and I felt myself blush. I pulled my helmet on and he turned around to make sure I put it on right.

"Put your arms around me." He said over the noise of the engine.

I blushed harder and I was thankful that the visor on my helmet hid most of my face. I wrapped my arms around him under his arms. I pulled my feet up off the ground as he backed the bike out of the parking spot. He revved the engine and drove out of the parking lot, fast. It felt like he was going 100 miles an hour! And I know what going that fast feels like. I screamed a bit as he shot over a speed bump. When the bike was one the ground again I was holding onto him harder. I heard him laughing at me and I felt my face burn more.

"Hey could you slow down? I've never gone this fast on a bike before!" I shouted, ok more like I screamed it. I was terrified. I was only use to going fast like this in the air.

"We're only going 45." I heard him chuckle.

"That's still too fast!" I squealed as we went over another speed bump.

Once we were on the street he slowed and stopped at a red light. I was still clinging to him. I felt something bumpy on his back. I looked down and saw only his jacket, so I figured his jacket had bunched up.

"That wasn't so bad was it?" he looked back at me while we were stopped. I could tell he was smiling.

"I guess not…"

He chuckled as the light changed and he sped through the intersection. He took me across town to the science area of campus. The campus was huge compared the town it was in. The whole town was part of the collage basically. We stayed on the bike as he told me about the buildings and the classes. After the science area he took me to the math and the arts. I remembered my schedule; I had classes all across the campus. As the sun started to set Nick pulled into a diner parking lot and killed the engine.

"You hungry?" he asked pulling off his helmet.

Before I could answer my stomach growled so loud I was sure the people inside could hear it. I blushed and nodded.

"I can pay for myself though," I said pulling off my helmet.

"Don't worry about it, I'll pay." He said heading for the door.

"No, I'll pay for myself. I can eat most people out of house and home." I argued following him.

"Even more of a reason for me to pay. You need money gas and other stuff." He held the door open for me.

We argued about who would pay for who up until we ordered our food. I sighed and gave in.

I ordered three of their biggest hamburgers, two baskets of fries with cheese, and two milkshakes. He got four burgers, three chili cheese fries, an order of onion rings, and two milkshakes.

_Damn… I knew guys could eat a lot but he can REALLY eat._ I couldn't help but think.

"If you really eat all that, I will be impressed." Nick said sitting back in his chair.

"Trust me. I'll probably end up getting more." I said.

"Well you can get as much as you want." He smiled at me and I smiled back.

We talked until the food came and then we were too busy stuffing our faces to talk. We both finished our food and ordered another basket of cheese fries to split and we each got dessert. We talked and joked while we finished eating. I realized how much this felt like a date and tried not to blush. It was kind of weird though… I'd just met him a few hours ago and I felt like I've known him for most of my life.

"I must say, I am truly impressed. You ate everything." He said as he gave a credit card to the waitress.

"I guess I'll fit right in with the football guys right?" I asked.

He laughed, "Yep."

Once the bill was paid, (I felt kind of bad… it was $98.74….) he took me outside to his bike.

"We still have a few hours 'till curfew, there's this place in the woods I like to go to. I go out there to get away from everyone. Well, everyone I don't want to be around. I wanna show you where it is so you can use it too." He said as he picked up his helmet.

Normally I would have been really uneasy. A guy I just met trying to take me out into the woods where we would be alone with no one around to hear or help if anything happened, but I felt like I could trust him. Yeah yeah, that's what every girl says before some guy they think they know really well does something to them. I don't know why but I felt so comfortable and safe around Nick. And I was fairly certain I could handle myself if something did happen.

"Sure," I smiled and pulled on my helmet as he started up the bike.

I got on the seat behind him are hugged his waist. I had definitely become more comfortable on the bike with him. He pulled out of the diner's lot and back onto the street. We headed south as the sun disappeared beyond the horizon. He pulled onto a dirt road that led into a forest. We followed the uneven road for a while before he pulled over. He killed the engine and we were surrounded by the silence of the night. He got off and pulled his helmet off. I did the same.

"It's a bit into the woods, so watch your step. There are squirrel holes and a ton of logs and roots you can twist an ankle on." He set his helmet on the ground next to the bike.

I nodded and set my helmet next to his. He led me back through the trees and true to his word, there were tons of things that tried to trip us. I did my best to avoid tripping but I failed. I didn't see a tree root that was hidden under some leaves and my foot got caught on it. I yelped as I started to fall. About two inches before I hit the ground I felt hands go around me and stop my fall. The hands brought me back up to a standing position and I found myself in Nick's arms. My back was pressed against his chest and I blushed.

He looked down at me and chuckled, "Are you ok?"

I nodded. Part of me wanted to pull away from him and brush the fall off like it didn't happen, but the other part wanted to stay in his arms.

_What's wrong with me? He already had a girlfriend! _

_But his girlfriends a total bitch that doesn't deserve him._

What the hell was going on with me? It was like I had the angel and the devil on my shoulders!

After a second he let go of me and I stepped away. I was blushing hard and I was thankful that he couldn't see my face very well in the dark. He chuckled and kept going. We got to a clearing and he stopped.

"This is it," he smiled. "No one ever finds me here. It's a nice place to disappear to."

I looked around. There was a large flat rock in the middle of the clearing right in a circle of moon light. The spot was beautiful.

"So you don't bring anyone out here? Not even your girlfriend?" I asked slowly walking towards the rock.

"No, and hell no. If I showed Macy this place she'd trash it with parties." He frowned and followed me.

"How did you know I had a girlfriend? Or did you just guess?"

"My roommates told me. Lizzy and Jenifer."

He laughed. "So you're Macy's roommate too. I feel bad for you."

I was a little surprised. He seemed to have a distasteful tone when he talked about Macy. I sat down on the rock and he sat next to me. I looked at him and I smiled a bit.

He smiled at me and leaned back, propping himself up on his elbows. "I love coming out here at night, the sky's always so clear. You can see so many constellations…"

I leaned back too and looked at the sky. "You're right." I smiled as he pointed out all the constellations he knew.

We watched the sky for a long time. We made jokes about people who might be sitting in planes that flew overhead and what some of the constellations really were or meant. I heard a deep growl come from behind us in the trees and I jumped up. Nick did too. After scanning the woods and seeing nothing I looked at Nick. The growl that I had heard should have been way too low for a human to hear, and he had jumped up at the same time I had. He was looking at me the same way I was looking at him. Was he thinking the same thing I was…? But that would mean he wasn't human. But that was so unlikely there were better chances of me finding the boy from dreams… who looked exactly like Nick… ok so maybe it wasn't as unlikely as I thought.

Oh, you guys don't really know about the dreams. Well ever since my operation I've been having dreams about this boy. He has dark hair, eyes, and wings. He was always my age and I feel like I've known him my whole life. I saw him in my dreams again two nights ago, and he looked exactly like Nick.

Realizing that did more than just weird me out a tiny bit. It freaked me out. He looked the exact same as the boy from my dreams, down to the last scar on his face. Well, except for the wings. There was no way Nick could have wings. But then what did I feel when I was on the back of his bike…? There was way too much going through my head to keep it all straight. I was about to say something when I heard the growl again. I spun around and found myself staring at a furry chest. I ducked just before a clawed hand swung at my head.

"Max look out!" Nick shouted as another creature swung at me.

There were ten of them in the clearing. I ducked and spun, kicking one in the chest and sending it flying back into a tree. These things were taller than Nick and must have weighed 200 pounds. Nick was staring at me. He didn't notice the creature coming up behind him.

I ran at him.

"Look out!" I jumped as he ducked and flew right over his head, drop kicking the creature right in the chest. I heard bones snap in it chest as it fell back.

I landed on my hands and knees. I finally got a good look at the things that were attacking us. They were like fricken werewolves!

_**Erasers…**_ a voice whispered in the back of my mind.

_Erasers…? What—_

The world blacked out as images flashed through my mind. Cages. Men and women in white lab coats. People changing, morphing into these creatures that were attacking us. The boy from my dreams in a cage next to mine…

When the real world came back it was like only a second had past. Nick was in the middle of punching an Eraser in the snout. One popped up in front of me and its claws swung at my chest. Everything slowed down, like time had become molasses. I almost laughed as I watched the Eraser's claw come toward me at the speed of a snail. I jumped back and watched as it slashed empty air. Its face was slowly turning to a confused expression. I laughed and round house kicked it in the snout. As it fell back, time slowly started to speed back up. Half of the Erasers were on the ground or running away. Once time had gone back to normal speed I ran for Nick. Erasers had super strength and would kill him soon if I didn't help him, though he seemed to be holding his own.

As I ran something hard collided with the back of my head and sent me sprawling to the ground. My vision was fuzzy and I felt like I was going to be sick. I tried to push myself up but something slammed me back to the ground. My vision was starting to fade. I was kicked in the stomach so hard it knocked the wind out of me. Nick heard me gasping for air and yelled my name. I got kicked in the head and my vision almost cut out completely. I could barely see anything, but I saw Nick running towards me. There was a soft whooshing sound and two black wings shot out from behind him as he leapt at the Eraser that was standing over me. My mind was sluggish so it took a minute for me to register what I had seen with my fading vision.

_WINGS? HE HAS….WINGS?_

I saw him shout something right before I passed out completely. After a few seconds in darkness I heard what he had shouted.

"MAX!"

* * *

><p><strong>Well that concludes this chapter. <strong>

**Max: Hm… that ending seems familiar…**

**Me: Nope, doesn't seem familiar to me at all *Sarcasm***

**FYI: I'm going to be on an island camp for the next week so it will be at least a week before I post again or get a chance to reply to any question.**

**See you soon,**

**Dark Shadow In The Night **


	4. Fang?

**OMG I AM SOOOOO SORRY FOR THE THREE MONTH WAIT!**

**Once I got back from camp I got sooooo blocked on this! But I have good news! I've gotten past my block and the story is just flowing right out! **

**Posting may be a little slow now though, since high schools back in session, but I'll post as often as I can. **

**Without further a due, the story.**

"MAX!"

I heard someone calling my name in the darkness.

"Max… wake up Max…"

I struggled to open my eyes. Once I finally got them open I saw Nick leaning over me. I could feel rocks pressing into my back.

"Wha… what happened?"

I suddenly remembered the creatures that had attacked us. Erasers… that's what that voice had said they were called. I sat bolt upright and almost smacked my head against Nick's.

He must have seen panic or something on my face because he said, "Calm down, you must have had a bad dream." He must have seen my confusion. "You fell asleep like ten minutes ago"

I fell asleep? It was all a dream? It couldn't have been… I could feel everywhere I was hit by an Eraser throbbing. But he didn't have a scratch on him. After that fight he should have been bloody and battered. A normal human—

I remembered seeing the black wings spouting from his back. I looked at him closely, looking for anything, any sign that it hadn't been a dream. I saw nothing that backed my hope.

"It's getting late, we should head back to school." He said getting up off the rock we had been sitting/laying on.

He held out his hand and helped me up. We went back to his bike and headed down to the main road. I felt so tired, that even on the back of his bike with my arms around his waist going 50mph down the road, I was falling asleep with y helmeted head resting on his back.

"Stay with me Max," I barely head him over the roar of the bike and the wind.

At a stop light he grabbed one of my hands. That woke me up. I sat up straighter and tightened my slackening grip around his waist as he speed across an intersection.

It didn't take too long to reach the dorm parking lot. Thankfully he went slow going in so I didn't have to death hug him. He pulled his bike into the parking space next to his car and cut the engine. I got off and pulled my helmet off, he did the same. He opened his car and threw his helmet in. I handed him mine and it had a similar fate to his, being thrown without a care into the backseat of an expensive car.

"Thanks for showing me around." I said as we walked up to the main building.

"Not a problem. I'd be glad to do it again sometime. Maybe head back to the clearing to work on homework or just to get away from everything for a little bit?" he was looking at me out of the corner of his eyes.

I tried not to look to hopeful as I smiled and said, "Yeah sure. Anytime."

He half smiled as he held the front door open for me. I walked in looking back over my shoulder to thank him. We got into the elevator and chatted a bit. On the way up my tiredness caught up with me again. I leaned against the wall and barely noticed as I started to slide down it.

"Whoa!" Nick said as he caught me before I hit the floor.

"Are you ok Max?" he asked. I could hear the concern in his voice.

"Tired…" I murmured. I could barely speak.

What was wrong with me…? I've never been this tired before…

He chuckled and picked me up just as the doors opened onto my floor. He carried me to my dorm and I started to pull out my keys when he unlocked the door with his own after knocking.

"You have a key…?" I asked. I think I was starting to slur my words…

He smiled a bit. "Macy gave it to me."

He walked in and Liz and Jen's jaws nearly broke the floor they hit it so hard.

Before either of them could say anything nick said, "Hey girls. I took Max around campus and it seems she's more tired than she thought. She nearly passed out in the elevator."

He set me on my bed and put the blanket over me.

Before he left he whispered goodnight to me. He stood and looked around the room.

"Macy moved out? Why?" he said.

I looked over and saw the bare bed that had been pink when I had got here earlier today.

"Apparently she didn't want to share a room anymore. She's in Willis Tower now." Liz told him.

"That's great!" he said. "Now I can finally sleep at night." He laughed.

The girls laughed too and said goodbye to him. I heard the door close at the same time my eyes did. Even though my eyes were closed I wasn't asleep. I heard my roommates get in bed and the lights clicked off. I listened as their breathing slowed and I knew they had fallen asleep. I rolled off my back and onto my stomach. I've never been much of back sleeper. Sure it was easier and less uncomfortable after I had the operation, but it was still hard to fall asleep on my back. I hugged the pillow and drifted off to the magical land of dreams.

My dreams weren't very pleasant that night. I was back in the cages again. I was about 7 I think, and the cages around me had kids in them too. I had had this dream thousands of times since I was little. Each time it was a little different and I learned a little bit more about the kids I was trapped with.

The littlest of them was the blond boy with blue eyes. I had heard the others call him Gazzy so that's what I called him. The next oldest was a black girl who was called Nudge. Then there were two boys who were the same age as me and we seemed to be the oldest. They were in the cages on either side of me so I could see them more clearly. I guess that's why I could remember more about them. One was tall and pale with strawberry blond hair. His eyes were a startling crystal blue and always seemed to have a smile in them. His name was Iggy. His cage was to the right of mine and we talked and joked a lot.

The last boy was different from the others. He almost never talked or showed any emotion. He had eyes that were completely black like his hair. He had tannish looking skin, even though it seemed like none of us were ever let out of these cages.

Iggy was saying something to nudge but I wasn't really listening. I was too busy staring at the other boy.

He must have noticed because he said, "Max why are you staring at me?"

I felt my dream self blush a bit and I shook my head.

"I'm not staring."

"Yes you are."

"Am not."

"Are too."

We went back and forth for a minute before I caved and admitted it.

"You can be such a butt hole Fang." I said pouting a bit.

The corner of his mouth twitched it to what you might call the world's fastest smile.

I opened my mouth to say something when the door was thrown open. Bright light spilled into the room and I was blinded. I tried to block the light with my hands, squinting to see who was coming in. The light got brighter and changed from yellow to white. Then suddenly I wasn't in the cage anymore. I was just surrounded by white.

_Am I dead…? Is this heaven…? Wait… I don't even really believe in heaven so why would I end up there? _ My thoughts seemed kind of random to my dream self.

I felt a strong gust of wind blow my long hair away from my face. The wind died instantly as the white disappeared and I was surrounded by the bluest blue you could ever imagine. I saw the ground thousands of feet below me, felt the heat of the sun beating down on me, felt the cool are sinking down and the warm air rising up, pushing me higher and higher into the sky.

I was flying. But not in a plane, I was flying with wings. My wings.

And it was the best sensation in the world.

I saw them out of the corner of my eyes with every stroke. I felt them beating powerfully pushing me through the air. The wind blowing through my feathers was cool making my skin tingle.

My wings were a soft brown on the underside and dark brown that faded to white on top. I must have been around my real age since my wing span was 15 ft. or so.

I banked left and saw someone else coming out of a bank of clouds that I must have just flown though. They were tall with olive skin and dark hair that stood out against the white of the clouds. Their wings were dark as well, almost purple in the bright sun light. They flew closer to me and I saw it was a boy. Well I should say a man; he was around my age, about 18. His eyes were dark, so dark that as he flew closer to me I couldn't tell where iris ended and pupil began.

He had a long scar on his face, going from just under his right eye that hooked to end at the corner of his mouth. It was darker than the rest of his skin but looked smooth. I liked it though; it gave him a kind of mysterious air about him.

I smiled at him and he gave me this killer half smile. The left side of his mouth went up when he smiled so with his scar it kind of looked like he was really smiling. I laughed a little at this. He flew over my head and as I moved to watch him he tapped the back of my head. I smiled more and flew after him. He tucked his wings all the way in and let himself fall. At first he fell with his arms out like he was going to belly flop into a pool. Then he angled his body forward so he fell head first, falling faster and faster. He let himself fall until he was just above the ground. I watched his wings shoot out and bring him back into the sky. He flew over to me.

"What's wrong Max?" he asked me, "You've just been hovering here."

"Nothing's wrong," I said, "I was just watching you." I couldn't help but smile when I said that.

He smirked a bit. "Well then, I'll just have to race you to those cliffs." He pointed off into the distance.

I could just barely see the cliffs he was talking about.

"You're on!" I shouted over my shoulder to him as I shot past in the direction of the cliffs.

I heard him laugh as he flew after me. We soared through the sky neck in neck until I suddenly dived on an angle. I was just about to land on the cliff when he flew into me and picked me up. With almost no effort at all he lifted me up into the air over the cliff right before my feet touched the ground. He had his arms under mine so I couldn't do much to fight back.

"Hey that's cheating!" I shouted at him laughing a little.

He chuckled as he flew me over a lake that was at the bottom of the cliff. It was surrounded by cliffs almost all the way around. There were birds too. Lots of them. I didn't have time to really look at them before he dropped me. I shrieked a bit as I fell. I was NOT expecting that. I whipped my wings out desperately trying to get some lift, but he had dropped me down far enough where I didn't have time to avoid hitting the water. I went under and sank almost all the way to the bottom. I clawed towards the surface, my body almost seem paralyzed from the icy water. It got warmer as I got nearer to the surface. I used all my strength and shot out of the water like a bullet. I snapped my wings out and my shoes just barely skimmed the water before I got lift. I flew up to the cliff where he had landed, dripping and pissed.

He laughed when he saw me, but it quickly turned into a surprised squeak as I slammed into him. I knocked him to the ground and hit a few times.

"You. Can. Be. Such. A. Jerk. Fang!" I said in between punches.

He blocked a few but most hit their mark. He caught my fist in his so I went to hit him with the other.

He caught that one too.

He grinned as I struggled to free my hands from his grip. Next thing I knew he had flipped us so he was straddling me instead of the other way around. He had my arms pinned at my sides so I had no way to fight back. I squirmed and struggled trying to throw him off me but he just chuckled. He brushed some of my wet hair away from my face and shivers shot through my body.

He leaned in so his face was right above mine and said, "You're cute when you're angry, you know that?"

I felt myself blush and he smirked a bit. He shifted his weight forward so he could lean in and kiss me, and that was my time to act. The next thing he knew I was on top of him again. I laughed at the look of 'what the hell just happened…?' that was on his face.

Unfortunately while I was laughing he grabbed me and rolled over. We ended up rolling around for a bit trying to restrain the other but we were evenly matched. So when we got tired we just laid there of the ground holding each other laughing a little. A shadow crossed over us and he looked up.

"Look, there're Ferruginous Hawks all around here…" I didn't have to look at him to tell he was smiling when he said that.

"You love big birds don't you?" I asked already knowing the answer.

He chuckled and nodded. "I think they're cool. They have so many tricks to do things easier when they fly… we could learn a thing or two from them."

"I'm sure we could, but I think I'd rather do something else right now."

He looked at me strangely.

"What do you want to do right now that'd be better than flying with the hawks?"

"This." I said as I leaned over.

My lips had just barely brushed his when I woke up.

My first thought, _GOD DAMMIT WHY DID I HAVE TO WAKE UP!_

The first thing I noticed was that it was still dark out. And that someone was standing by the open window, which had been shut before I fell asleep.

Jen and Liz where still asleep so it couldn't be one of them. I tried to sit up but I couldn't. My body was so soar I could barely move. The person by the window moved towards me. I wasn't scared though, I already knew who it was. I'd seen him hundreds of times, visiting me in the middle of the night when no one else was up. He knelt next to my bed and ran his hand through my hair. I smiled tiredly at him. He smiled at me a bit, his scare under his eye making it look like he was smiling a lot.

"Hello Max," He said quietly.

"I've missed you…" My words a bit slurred since I was still half asleep.

"I know, I wanted to come see you sooner, but things have been busy…"

"It's ok… I understand Fang…"

"You look tense Max, too much stress about starting here?"

"Yeah…"

"Would you like me to rub your back? It'll make you feel better."

"Sure… thank you…"

He stood up and quietly got on my bed. He straddled me and slid my shirt up. He had to help me slid it off my arms but he didn't take it all the way off. He let it rest around my neck. He unhooked my bra but again didn't take it all the way off (I was still laying on my stomach so he didn't see anything). He pressed his hands against my back and started rubbing in small circles. His hands were ruff and calloused but it still felt good.

I sighed into my pillow as I felt myself relax. I felt myself starting to drift back to sleep after a few minutes. His hands left my back for a second and I felt a sharp sting on the back of my neck. I tried to move but I couldn't. My eyes slid shut but I didn't fall asleep. I just couldn't move…! I felt him put my clothes back in place then he moved me so I was lying on my side. I managed to open my eyes a bit and saw that he was kneeling right in front of my bed.

"I'm sorry Max, I have to leave now. I'll be back as soon as I can, I promise." He kissed my forehead and stood up.

I tried to say something, move, do anything, but I just couldn't. There was a dull ache that was starting to come up in my chest.

I tried to speak again. "F-fang…" I heard pain in my voice. The dull ache had grown and now it was spreading.

"I know, it hurts. And I'm sorry, but you needed it." He said as he climbed out the window. He jumped out and I saw his wings open. He soared into the sky and out of my sight.

I passed out as the ache got so strong I would have started screaming in pain. And it takes a lot to make me scream. I tried to stay conscious but it was in vain, I slipped under in less than a second.

When I woke the next morning I wasn't sure of what happened last night. It was late morning and Jen and Liz weren't in the room. I got up and changed. After a quick shower I headed down to the lobby. I saw a notice board that had a lot of guys crowded around it. So, I did what was natural to me. I pushed and shoved my way to the front of the crowd. It was a noticed about football try outs. They were in two weeks.

"Sweet!" I said.

The guys nearest me stared at me.

"What?" I looked at each of them. They all outweighed me by at least 90 lbs.

"You're gunna try out for the team?" one asked.

"Hell yeah. I lead my high school team the finals and we won." I crossed my arms.

"And what school did you come from?" a guy laughed, "An all-girls school?"

"No. I came from Calloski high school in L.A." I told them.

Most of them laughed. But one guy stepped up.

"Wait you're not Maxine Ride are you?" he said.

"Yeah," I was surprised. I didn't expect anyone to really know who I was.

"You're like a legend in my town!" he said enthusiastically

Most of the guys laughed.

I'm not going to go into any more detail about this little conversation. It didn't end well for the guys who had been laughing at me.

So after that little incident I headed out side. It was Sunday so I had the whole day to do anything I wanted. I wandered around town for a while before I found myself in a park. There was a soccer game going on so I went to watch. I climbed a tree near the field, and it gave me the perfect vantage point to see the entire field. I watched as the two teams fought to get the ball to the other team's goal. One team's color was yellow, the others black. The black team seemed to be winning, thanks to a tall, pale boy. He had strawberry blond hair and crystal blue eyes. He was the fastest of all of them, getting from one end of the field to the other in half the time it took the other players. He kicked the ball from a quarter of the field away from the goal. It soared over a few of the players' heads and right passed the goalie into the net. The crowd for that was there for that team went nuts. They shouted and cheered as the rest of the team rushed the boy into a huge group hug like thing. The other team walked over to their coach, (who was yelling stuff like "you yellow bellied cowards! You could have played better than that!") with their heads down.

As the crowd slowly left I jumped down from the tree and headed over to the boy who had kicked the winning goal. He and his team were packing up and heading for the bus.

"Hey, you're the one who scored that last goal right?" I ask coming up behind him.

He turned and lowered a water bottle from his mouth.

"Yeah,"

"That was a nice shot. Most players wouldn't be able to make one like that." I tipped my head to the side slightly. "How'd you do it?"

"Uh, just got lucky I guess." He shrugged.

He was lying. I could tell. I had seen the way he looked when he took the shot; he knew he was going to make it.

"Hm… ok. So what school are you from?" I said faking that I believed that lame excuse.

"Harroway regional collage. You?"

"G.H. Chu." I nodded over my shoulder.

"How come you're not all pissed that I just handed your team's ass to them?" he was smirking a bit.

"I'm new. This is only my second day. And I've never really been a huge soccer fan."

"So why are you out here today?"

"Had nothing else to do." I shrugged.

"My names James by the way."

"Cool. I'm Max."

"Nice to meet you Max." James said.

"Likewise."

"Hey James! Come on we're leaving!" his coach shouted at him.

"Uh-oh, gotta run, see you some other time Max!" he said as he ran towards the bus.

"See yeah!" I called after him.

I started to walk away, but then I realized that he had dropped his water bottle. I bent down to pick it up when I noticed writing in black sharpie on the clear plastic. I laughed when I read what it said.

'Call me' it said, with his cell number written underneath, along with his email. I looked up at the bus as it was pulling away and saw him smiling at me. I smiled and waved at him, he waved back. I walked back to Grant Tower still laughing a little. He was sly, I hadn't seen him write it while we were talking.

My cell buzzed as I walked. I checked it and saw I had a message from Kat, a friend of mine before I came to G.H. Chu. It was just a simple 'Hey how's it going?'. I texted with her a bit but stopped when I got to an intersection. The walk sign changed and I looked both ways before stepping out into the street. A car was coming but the light for it was red, so I figured he'd be stopping.

Half way across the intersection my phone fell out of my pocket. It hit the ground and the battery popped out. I muttered a swear and bent down to pick up the pieces. The car was still coming and didn't show any signs of stopping, but I didn't realize it until it was too late. When I stood up the car was less than ten feet away from me. I tensed, ready to jump up over the car. But just before I would have jumped, something slammed into to me from the side. Its momentum carried us out of the cars path as it ran the light. I hit the ground and whatever had hit me landed on top of me. I somehow still had my phone in my hand. I twisted to see what had knocked me out of the way and saw black hair.

He looked up at me, black eyes staring into my brown ones.

"Nick?" my eyes widen in surprise.

"Are you ok Max?" he asked, slowly getting up.

"Yeah… thank you… for saving me…" he helped me to my feet.

A few people around us were staring, dumbfounded.

"You don't have to thank me. I wasn't about to let one of my friends get splattered by a car." He said as we walked to the sidewalk.

I guess we were kind of acting like nothing had just happened because people were still staring at us.

"So why were you out here today?" he asked.

"I didn't have anything else to do so I went for a walk. I ended up watching the soccer game."

"The one between us and Harroway?"

"Yeah. Met a nice guy there."

"I was there, but on the Harroway side. One of my good friends is their top player."

"He wouldn't happen to be pale with strawberry blond hair would he?" I asked glancing sideways at him.

"Yeah, his name's─"

"James," I said cutting him off.

"Yeah," he said surprised. "You know him?"

"He's the guy I met," I said smiling a bit.

He chuckled a bit. "He's a great guy. I went through all of my school years with him, until he got accepted to Harroway."

"Are you two still close?"

"Oh yeah, we talk all the time and hang out like every other weekend."

"Cool. Most of my old friends are in collage out of state so I don't get to see them much… well that and they're two years ahead of me."

"Are you that young? You don't seem like it." he sounded surprised.

"No I'm 18, 19 in two months. But I failed freshmen and sophomore year of high school because I got into too many fights."

"Hey I'll be 19 in three months." He smiled a bit.

"… then how come you're in your second year?"

"I was home schooled until third grade when I got tired of tutors. James had skipped grades so we were both in third grade earlier than normal."

"Wow. Cool." I was surprised by that.

"Hey me and James are hanging out next weekend, you want to join us?"

"Sorry, but I promised my roommates I'd take them flying this weekend."

"You know how to fly?" he looked at me surprised.

"Yeah. I'm a licensed pilot. Have been since I was fifteen."

"That's awesome! I've never been up in a plane before… come to think of it neither has James."

"You guys wanna come with? I'm sure Jen and Liz won't mind having the most wanted guy in school tag alone with his buddy." I snickered a bit.

"Really? I don't want to impose or anything…"

"Not at all! The more the merrier! Besides, with five people I can get a better plane to show off my mad pilot skills." I grinned a little evilly.

"… Ok that face scares me a bit…"

"Good, it should." I chuckled.

We laughed a bit and realize that we had gotten back to Grant Tower. The sun was setting and I realized how hungry I was when my stomach growled loud enough for him to hear. I blushed a tiny bit.

"Hungry are we?" he chuckled.

"A bit…" I admitted.

"Wanna head back to Keny's?"

"… Where?" I asked confused.

"The diner we were at last night."

"Oh! Sure! They've got good food… but I'll pay for myself this time."

He chuckled, "Alright, if you insist. We can take my car this time, unless you want to ride the bike again."

I debated for a moment.

"Car."

He chuckled and led me to the parking lot. He unlocked the doors to his Camaro and we climbed inside. He started it and the radio came on. It was set to the alternative station and one of my favorite songs was just starting. As he drove I sang along to the radio. About halfway through the song I realized he was laughing at me, and that I most likely was being a mega dork. I stopped, but he started to sing along. After that we just sang along with every song we knew until we got to the diner.

Our meal was spent laughing, talking, and stuffing food into our mouths. I had wanted to pay for myself, but by the time I got back from the bathroom he had already paid for me.

"I feel bad… that's twice you've paid for me." I said as we got back in his car.

"Don't, I don't mind paying for you." he smiled a bit at me. "Most people expect me to pay for them, but I don't."

"Then why—" I started.

"Because you don't assume that I'm going to." He answered my question before I could even finish asking it.

I was silent for a moment.

"C'mon, lets head back to school." He said heading for the door.

I sighed a bit but followed him. We got back in the car and he drove back to Grant Tower.

"THANK GOD IT'S FRIDAY!" I basically shouted as I collapsed onto my bed.

"Amen!" Liz yawned.

"Hey you're still taking us flying tomorrow right?" Jen asked as she pulled off her shirt.

"Why wouldn't I be? You guys have been looking forward to this all week!" I laughed as I sat up.

"Is it going to be just the three of us or is the guy you're borrowing the plane from coming with?" Jen asked pulling her pajama shirt on.

Uh-oh… I had completely forgotten to tell them that James and Nick were coming.

"Uh…" I said lamely.

"…What's up?" Liz asked, looking a little concerned.

"It's just that I forgot to tell you guys something."

They both had '…What?' faces.

"We're going to be having… two special guests coming along." I said.

"Really?" Liz said at the same time that Jen said "Who?"

I smiled a little as I said, "Can't tell, it's a secret."

"Come on! Tell us!" Jen said bouncing a bit on her bed.

"Sorry, but I'm sworn to secrecy!" I said. It was total bull, but it was fun to mess with them.

"Can you at least tell us if we know them?" Jen pleaded.

"Or if they're guys or girls?" Liz added.

"Hm…" I pretended to think about it. "They're both guys, and I know you know one of them."

After that they pretty much spent the rest of the night pleading with me to tell them who was coming with and trying to guess who after I wouldn't tell them.

Finally we all got into bed and shut off the lights. Once I fell asleep, I didn't dream. It was just darkness. It had been the same all week… ever since Fang came to visit. Was I worried? I don't really know. I just found it a bit strange was all.

But when I woke up every morning I felt like I had slept like a baby the night before.

But this time it felt like morning came all too early.

**Well that's it for this chapter. Again I apologize for such a long wait. I plan on posting the next chapter soon, and I would appreciate any feedback you guys have! I love to hear from my readers! **

**Dark Shadow In The Night **


	5. Is This Goodbye?

**Told you I'd update sooner this time! I've been using my free time in my computer classes in High School to type so I'm getting so much more done now faster. Hopefully I'll be able to keep typing this up all year so I can get more of the story out. **

**So here's the story!**

**Max: … why do I get the feeling something bad's going to happen to me…**

**Ssshhh! Don't ruin the surprise!**

**Max: …**

* * *

><p>The light shining in through the window was blinding. I groaned and rolled over, shoving my head under the pillow. I had started to fall back asleep a few minutes later when I was attacked with pillows and people jumping on my bed.<p>

"C'mon Max!" Liz laughed as she whacked me on the back with a pillow.

Man did that smart…

"Five more minutes…" I mumbled.

"No way! We're going flying today remember?" Jen said dragging the blanket off me.

"Alright, alright… I'm getting up." I groaned as I sat up.

I rubbed my eyes and yawned, streching my arms and back.

"So how are we getting there?" Liz asked as I got up.

"My parents are dropping off my car today, so I'll drive us." My voice was a little muffled by my shirt since I was changing. "But first things first, who's up for some breakfast at Keny's? my treat." I grinned as they cheered.

Later that morning while the girls were getting ready to go I got on my laptop and emailed James the direction to the airfield. Nick was picking him up and they were meeting us there around 1 this afternoon.

When my cell phone rang in was under my pillow so I didn't hear it at first. Only after Jen said something did I see that I had missed a call.

I unlocked the screen and saw it was James who had called.

"Shit…" I muttered as I pressed the call back button.

It rang only once before he picked up.

"Hey, you called?" I asked before he had time to say hello. A little rude, I know. But the longer I was on the phone with him the more likely I was to let his name or Nick's slip.

"Yeah, we're still meeting up at 1 right?" The connection had a little static, but I figured it was because I was in the building.

"Yep, I emailed you the directions about half an hour ago."

"Good," he laughed, "Otherwise me and Nick would probably never find the place!"

I laughed too, "Yeah, so he's still picking you up?"

"Uh-huh, nothing from the original plan has changed on our end, I just wanted to double check on yours."

"Good. Oh, and by the way," I lowered my voice a bit, trying to seem secretive, but I made sure I was still loud enough for the girls to hear. "The girls don't know you boys are coming. Well they know you're coming, but not specifically you two."

He snickered a bit, "Nice one. Forget to tell them until like last night or something?"

"… exactly that." I said surprised.

He just laughed. "Really? I was just guessing! But that's an awesome game to play Max, didn't know you were the tricky type."

I chuckled. "I love pranking people. And just all around messing with them."

He laughed again. "Nice. Well I'll see you there."

"See you," I said just before I hung up.

I turned around and saw them staring at me.

"What?" I asked all innocently.

"Who was that?" Jen asked, trying to get me to slip up and tell them who was coming.

"One of our mystery boys." I tried not to smirk as they groaned at their failed attempt.

We headed to Keny's around 10, and boy did we have a feast for breakfast. I told them they might not want to eat too much, but they didn't listen. So after paying the bill we waddled back to Grant Tower to await my car.

My parents finally got there after 11:30, and insisted that I tell them all about my first week and introduce them to my friends. It took me another half hour to do that and get them to leave (Only begrudgingly did I introduce them to Jen and Liz. I still thank god Nick and James weren't there.).

So when we finally piled into my car it was already after noon.

Now my car was nothing special. Just a used, blue, Chevy Malibu.

"Great…" I groaned when I saw the time. "We're gunna be late."

"Aw don't worry about it Max, I'm sure they won't mind." Liz said from the back seat. Jen had claimed shotgun before breakfast.

"Jim will. He's really uptight about being puntual." I said as I pulled onto the highway.

"That the guy you're renting the plane from?" Liz asked.

"Yeah. So, we have about an hour drive to the airfield. Any ideas for what to do?" I asked putting the car in cruise.

"RADIO!" they both shouted at the same time.

I laughed and turned it on. Kiss FM was already on.

Basically we just sang along to the radio and were total dorks for the whole drive. Nothing too exciting happened.

I exited the highway and took a few county roads to a small town in the middle of nowhere. We had to drive right through the little town to get to the airfield.

"… dude add cornfields as fair as you can see and this place would be right out of The Children of the Corn…" Jen said looking out the window.

I laughed a little, "Yeah you're right. Well at least we're almost there."

20 minutes of driving later I pulled up in front of a long line of air craft hangers in the middle of huge field. There was a line of tarmac running along the length of it. There was one other car out there, but no one was in it. It was just a small, beat up, old style VW Buggy.

"Here we are," I said turning off the engine.

We got out and looked around.

"Well that's Jim's car right there… so we must have beaten the boys here." I said more to myself then to anyone else.

I cupped my hands around my mouth and shouted, "Hey Jim! You in there?" I was standing at the entrance to the nearest hanger. My voice echoed inside.

After about a minute a guys voice shouted from the back of the hanger.

"Max? That you out there screamen'?"

"Who else?" I half laughed half shouted back.

A short, slightly chubby man came out of the hanger. He had on a baseball hat that had the Chicago Sox logo on it.

"Well, it's about time you got here." He said. He looked over at Liz and Jen then back at me. "Where's the rest? You said there'd be five."

"We're waiting on the boys," I explained, "Jim, this is Jenifer and Lizzy." I nodded over my shoulder at them.

They both gave a polite hello and he nodded.

"You girls ever been up in a plane before?" he asked.

"No, I've never flown before…" Jen said shaking her head.

"Only commercially." Liz said.

"Hm…" Jim turned to me, "Go easy on them, I don't think they could take you showing off."

I chuckled a tiny bit. "Alright, besides don't want them puking in the back now do we?"

He laughed just as my cell rang. I checked the screen, but didn't recognize the number.

I walked a bit away from them before I answered.

"Hello?"

"Hey Max," a deep voice said. I recognized it instantly.

"Hey, what's up? And how did you get my number?"

"Just calling to let you know we got stuck in traffic. We think there was an accident about a mile up the road. All the lanes are blocked so it's probably going to be a while." He said.

"Ouch… ok. And you're avoiding my question. How did you get my number?"

"How do you think? James gave it to me." I could hear James laughing in the background.

"Hm… remind me to smack the both of you when you get here."

"Will do," he laughed, "See you there."

"Bye Nick," I kept my voice low when I said his name, that way the girls wouldn't hear.

I hung up and went back over to the rest of them. They were laughing at a joke Jim had told.

"Hey it's gunna be a while before the others get here, stuck in traffic."

"Well that just stinks." Jim said. "Well that leaves time for you to take a practice flight if you want. Since you haven't been up in a while. And I'm sure you want to show off a little." He said smiling a bit.

"I suppose a practice flight wouldn't do any harm," I grinned.

Jim helped me get the hanger doors fully open before I climbed into the red Rans S10. Once we had the engine started I taxied out of the hanger onto the run way. Before I took off I slipped on the radio headset and made sure the mic was working. After checking in with Jim via radio I took off. The plane soared easily up into the air. One minute into my flight time I was at 800ft. I banked south and circled the airfield a few times, getting a feel for the controls and how the weather was. By the way, it was perfect conditions for flying. A cloudless sky, minimal wind, and around 68 degrees. Perfect.

There was a crackle of static in my ear and Jim's voice came over the radio. "So how are things up there?"

"Perfect," I replied. "The weathers absolutely perfect."

"You picked a good day ta take your friends on a trip, so going anywhere in particular with them?"

"I figured I take them out over the Sierras since they're near by. They're supposed to be beautiful this time of year."

"Just be careful, you know how some of the valleys out there get." He warned me.

"I know Jim. I've heard the stories."

There was more static then Jen's voice came on.

"Hey you just gonna fly in circles or what? Show us what you can really do Max!"

"Ok ok!" I laughed as I climbed higher. "Just give me a minute."

Once I was high enough I tipped the plane's nose downward and dived. I felt my butt start to leave my seat and cheered at the feeling. There's almost nothing that compares to the feeling of being in a nose dive and feeling your butt leave your seat. I watched the ground get closer and closer. About 200ft from the tarmac I pulled out of the dive and rocketed back up. I heard Jen and Liz cheering over the radio while Jim was laughing.

"You two ain't seen nothin' yet. Hey max if you're ready why don't you quit playing around?"

"Is the smoke loaded on this thing?" I asked as I banked left.

"Yep. All the wing canisters are full and we've got six colors."

"Let me guess," I laughed flicking the first switch as I banked back towards the air field.

"Red," red smoke started marking the path I had been flying.

"Orange," another switch flicked up, orange smoke joined the red.

"Yellow," up went another, yellow joined the duo.

"Green," three trails were joined by a fourth.

"Blue," dark blue smoke joined the sky.

"And Purple!" I laughed as I flicked the last switch and a trail of purple followed the plane.

I now had a rainbow trail marking my flown path.

"Good job! You know your rainbow!" Jim laughed.

I laughed as I tipped my plane sideways then did several barrel rolls in a row. A spiraling trail of colors was left behind me.

I righted my plane and decided to follow the road we had taken to the field.

"Hey I'm gunna follow the road for a bit. Be back in a half hour."

"Alright be careful with my plane. And keep an eye on your fuel level." Jim said, "I'll be teaching your friends here about airplane safety."

"Just don't scar them too badly!" I laughed as I heard Jen say something about having to go to the bathroom, knowing she was just trying to escape.

I banked to the southeast and set a course that followed the only road while turning off the smoke trails. Right then it was deserted, but it didn't matter. I followed the road past the small town and back to the highway. I figured I had gone far enough so I banked in a slow arc over the highway. As I was just getting on course to head back to the airfield I saw a black Chevy Camaro pulling off onto the exit ramp for the town.

_No way…_ I thought.

There was no way I could have somehow timed this perfectly without even meaning to!

I pulled my cell phone out of my pocket just as it rang.

Now I know you're not supposed to have cell phones on planes but hey, I was flying and I knew what I was doing.

"Hello?"

"Hey Max, it's James. Were pulling off the highway right now. Should be there in like twenty minutes."

"…" I couldn't even say anything.

"…You ok Max?" he asked.

"Yeah, just got distracted for a sec."

"Ok, we're not too late are we?"

"No," I said as I dipped the nose of the plane forward and descended.

I stayed on the phone with him as I followed the car through the town and out into the field that surrounded it. Once we were about a half mile from town I flew lower. I leveled out about ten feet above the roof of the car. I was about fifty feet behind them but catching up quick.

"… What the fuck…?" I heared Nick say. I assumed he had seen the plane in his rear view mirror.

"Um… what's with the plane so low?" James asked more to himself than me.

"What?" I asked innocently as I flew closer.

"There's this red plane following us…" he said.

I saw the passenger side window go down and James poked his head out, looking back at the plane. I moved over and dropped a bit lower as I flew by. I grinned at James as his mouth opened in surprise. I knew he had seen me. Right as I passed I turned the blue smoke on and pulled up. I rose through the air quickly, laughing as I heard James sputtering from the smoke and surpise.

"What the hell was that for and what the hell was that?" I heard Nick shouted in surprise over the phone as I flew higher.

"Max!" James half shouted half laughed into the phone. "You're one big show off!"

"Well we got bored waiting for you guys!" I laughed.

"That was you Max?" Nick asked. James mist have put me on speaker phone.

"Yep. Dark blue _**is**_ my favorite color." I was still laughing. "Well I see you boys at the hanger!" I hung up and focused back on flying.

"Hey Jim, I'm heading back right now," I said into the mic. "The boys are on their way. E.T.A. for them is about twenty minutes."

"And you?" Jim asked in response. I could hear Jen and Liz in the background jokingly yelling things like 'Save me' and 'Thank god it's over!'

"E.T.A. five or less."

"10/4, see you soon." With that the radio static quieted.

As soon as my plane rolled to a stop I opened the cockpit door and leaped out. I was already in the hanger, right next to the plane we were going to all go up in, so I decided to prep it.

Jim and the girls came in and decided to help. So by the times the boys got there the plane was already on the runway ready for takeoff.

As their car drove up the girls jaws hit the tarmac.

"No way…!" Liz said.

James got out first as Nick shut off the engine. He smiled at me.

"Hey Max, nice to see you out of a plane."

I laughed as the girls stared between me and him. But they weren't staring at us long. Nick got out of the car and their attention immediately snapped to him.

"OH. MY. GOD." Jen whisper yelled, her eyes open wide.

"Hey Nick, no hard feelings?" I asked going over to him.

"No." he punched my arm playfully.

"Hey!" I laughed, "I need that to fly!"

After talking for a few minutes I learned that James already knew the girls from hanging out with Nick, so no need to introduce them. We headed over to the plane and Jim gave everyone a quick rundown of safety procedures and all that crap.

Eventually we got everyone in and strapped down for takeoff. I put my radio headset on and closed the door after going through one more check with Jim. I sat down at the controls and started the engines. Nick was sitting next to me in what would be considered the co-pilot's seat. He claimed he wanted to learn how to fly so I explained what I did as I did it to him. James and the girls were sitting in the rear part of the somewhat small plane and they were talking about something random, having to shout a bit to be heard over the noise of the engines.

Once the plane was ready we took off. I kept the angle of our ascent lower then I would have had it just be me so they wouldn't all freak out.

Once we were at cruising altitude I decided to have a little fun.

"Hey guys! I hope you're still strapped down!" I shouted trying not to snicker.

"Why!" Jen asked, she sounded a little scared.

Instead of answering I tipped the nose of the plane down and into a steep dive. The girls screamed and the boys cried out in surprise. I just laughed like a loon as I pulled out of the dive and back up to around 10,000 ft.

"OH MY GOD MAX YOU ARE SO MEAN!" Jen shouted she sounded like she was going to cry from fear.

I could only laugh. "Sorry! I couldn't help myself!"

Even Nick looked like he had just about wet his pants. He probably needed a change of underwear.

As we flew east towards the mountains I explained that I was taking them over the Sierra Nevada Mountains. They all seemed to like this idea.

We talked at chatted while we flew, enjoying the views. And at random times I would suddenly bank hard making the girls scream. I laughed every time. It just never got old!

After we had been in the air for about an hour and a half, Nick had gone to the rear to talk with James and the girls. I stayed up from because, well isn't it obvious? I had to fly the plane.

Just as we began to fly over the mountains something in under the clouds caught my eye. There was something larger than a bird and much more awkward, flying just below the cloud line about as fast as the plane.

I craned my neck to look up at it and my jaw dropped. it was a boy flying with his own black wings.

_What the hell is he doing?_ I thought as I watched him angle his body so he slowly descended.

I looked back at Nick then at the boy. Now that I could see them this close (time wise at least), I saw that they looked almost exactly alike! The only difference was the boy's scar.

He flew lower until he was just above the wing of the plane and smiled at me. I just about lost control of the plane right then. Fang _**never**_ came out and saw me during the day or when other people were around. I was praying that the others were distracted enough by each other so they wouldn't look out the window and see him.

I saw Fang look behind him and pale a bit. He dropped back and out of my sight. I was a little worried about what he saw, but also relieved that the others wouldn't see him now.

Next thing I knew there was a loud bang and something hit the wing of the plane making it tip violently to the side. Jen and Liz screamed as I fought to get the plane under control.

"What the hell was that?" Nick shouted.

"I don't know!" I shouted back over my shoulder as I managed to right the plane.

I looked all around out the window and saw those wolf things called Erasers. But they had wings, and were flying. One had just landed on the wing of the pane and had fallen off when it tipped, but now it was getting back up level with the plane.

The Erasers attacked the plane from all sides. The end of one wing snapped off which made it five times as hard to keep the plane under control.

But no matter what I did I couldn't keep the plane from starting to drop. I put it in a controlled dive, not very steep but still too steep for my liking. I scanned the ground below (which was getting closer at an alarming rate) as I spoke quickly but clearly into the radio. I was letting the nearest air traffic control know that we were going down and what area we were in.

I called Nick to the front as I spotted a dark blue lake. We were low enough to be able to survive a fall into the water, if it was deep enough. I was pretty sure it was. If it wasn't… it was probably better than the alternative. Which was crashing into trees then a cliff.

"Nick when we're over the lake open the door and jump!" I shouted. "You and James take the girls when you jump. You'll be able to survive the fall into the water!"

"What about you?" he shouted back.

"I'll jump after you're all out! Now go! We're running out of time!"

He went into the back and told James what to do. They picked up the girls and Nick opened the plane door. As soon as the lake was below they jumped. It was only about thirty feet to the water but it still seemed like a very long way down. I could hear the girls scream as they fell. I banked the plane to left and looked back out the door. I saw them hit the water and go under. As I came around in a small circle I saw them surface. They seemed to be ok. It was too late for me to jump now. The lake was already behind me. The tops of the tree were beginning to hit the belly of the plane. I left my seat and went to the open door. Just before I jumped out, the plane exploded against the cliff face.

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><p>? PoV <strong>(AN it's pretty obvious)**

I grabbed Jen and opened the door to the plane. As the wind rushed in I looked back at Max one more time. She was talking over the radio, and I could barely hear what she was saying. I looked out the door at the blue water and took a deep breath. Then I jumped, pulling Jen out of the plane with me. It wasn't far of drop, about 30ft, but the water was COLD. And hitting it hurt too. I had twisted to take most of the impact and my back took all of it.

We sank beneath the surface, almost to the bottom. I felt my ears pop from the sudden change of pressure. Jen was frozen from the shock of jumping, and probably the cold water. Still holding onto her I swam towards the surface. James and Liz hit the water about 20ft to our left and sank about as far as we did.

Both James and me swam to the surface holding onto the girls. We were probably only under water for like thirty seconds but it felt like hours to swim to the surface. Once I surfaced I made sure Jen was ok. Then I looked around for James and Max. James surfaced nearby about ten seconds after I did. He was holding Liz. She was ok, thank god. I looked up and saw the plane flying away from the lake. I hadn't seen Max jump out or see a splash.

"James!" I shouted, starting to panic. I tried not to show it though, "Where's Max?"

"Did she jump?" he asked watching the plane, he was pale with fear.

"I didn't see her…" We swam towards each other still holding the girls.

I looked back at the plane as it started to hit trees. It disappeared into the trees and then there was an explosion. Horror filled me as I watched the fire ball rise into the sky.

Then out of nowhere memories come rushing to the front of mind.

Images flashed in my mind's eye so fast I could barely make them out. Cages, doctors, people in white lab coats, kids with wings, like me… two boys and three girls.

One memory shoved its way to the front. The oldest girl, who was about the same age as me, was getting dragged away by people in the white coats. I was screaming her name… fighting to try and get to her…

At first I couldn't remember what her name was. Then it hit me like a brick wall.

"MAX!" I couldn't stop myself from screaming my friend's name.

* * *

><p><strong>Well I think I'm going to end it here today guys. <strong>

**Nick: Why did you kill Max?**

**Don't question me. **

**Nick: Bastard!**

**I control your world and I'll kill off who I want how I like. You could be next if you're not careful. **

**Nick: o_o**

**Well now that he's shut up, the story shall continue!**

**In my next post.**

**See you all next time! (and please don't murder me!)**

**~D.S.I.T.N.**


	6. Dying In His Arms

**Hello!**

**I'm back with the next chapter! **

**So, I haven't really gotten any reviews lately, so to ****Live In Today**** and ****Soaring Without Wings**** I have to say, thank you for reviewing! **

**You guys are the only two who have responded to my latest chapters. **

**My confidence as a writer is starting to run a little low due to the lack of reviews. I love to hear from my readers and get their opinions of how the storyline goes. So now, from this point on I have decided that I will have an incentive for you guys. Every five reviews, I will post a new chapter. And that means, if I get ten or fifteen reviews, I will post two or three more chapters faster/sooner!**

**So, without further a due, the story.**

* * *

><p><strong>Nick PoV<strong>

For a minute, we all just floated there… in too much shock to speak or do anything else.

"Nick let's get them to dry land… then we can go look for her…" James said.

I could only nod. There were still too many memories rushing through my mind… how the hell could I have forgotten all of these things… the pain… the joy of flying… being able to see her face every time I looked at the cage next to mine…

Or was it all just a dream? Was I just crazy…?

I shook my head to clear it and started after James, pulling Jen along with me. She was crying…

We got to shore after a few minutes of swimming.

"You two stay here, ok? We're going to go look for the plane." I was surprised that I was able to keep my voice steady.

"Please don't leave us alone!" Liz cried. She looked scared. "There were these… things… that attacked the plane…! What if they come back?"

"Ok, I'll stay with you." James told them, kneeling down next to her.

"Alright… I'll be back soon…" I headed off around the lake in the direction the smoke was coming from. At first I just walked, then I started jogging. By the end of it I was full out running, as fast as I could. Which was way faster than a normal human could. Thank you evil scientists.

The memories were still running through my head. Over and over and over again. I was running through the trees, feeling every sting of every branch that whipped my face and arms.

I ran and ran, following the smell of burning that was floating through the woods. I stopped running when I saw the inferno that had been the plane.

* * *

><p>I ran toward it after having caught my breath. Black smoke filled the air and pieces of the planes hull were still raining down. As I got nearer I thought I heard someone cry out, but it was so quiet I thought I had just imagined it. But I still called her name, doubtful I would hear a response. None came.<p>

I walked among the wreckage, looking for any sign of her, afraid of what I might find, but at the same time afraid that I might not find anything.

A lot of things were on fire, so I couldn't get near some places. But where I was clear of the fire, I searched like there was no tomorrow. I looked and looked but I couldn't find any sign of her.

I started slowly expanding my search outward away from the wreck. About twenty feet away from the main hull I heard someone call my name. Their voice was weak… and it seemed like they choked on the word… I looked around for a minute, then I saw her… covered in her own blood and barely able to stand. I ran to her, catching her as she collapsed.

* * *

><p><strong>? PoV<strong>

I woke up staring at the sky. At first I couldn't feel anything, but slowly feeling returned to my body. I tried to move my leg but a sharp stabbing wall of pain slammed into my mind, making me cry out. I stopped trying to move any part of my body and just lay there, panting. I heard a voice calling out what sounded like my name. The voice was so familiar… I tried to look around, but moving any part of my body seemed to set me on fire with agony.

So for a long time I just laid there. I felt like one huge bruise. I realized that there was a fire nearby, a big one. I slowly rolled over on to my stomach, and God did that hurt. I felt a sharp pain in my chest as my weight pressed it to the ground and I coughed hard. That just hurt my chest more. When I opened my eyes (I had shut them when I coughed because of the pain) I saw blood on the ground. My blood.

I coughed again as I pushed myself up shakily on my elbows. More blood came out of my mouth and pooled on the ground. I gritted my teeth as wave after wave of agony slammed through me and got to my feet. I looked down at myself and saw that my clothes were stained with my blood. I couldn't put any weight on my left leg, it was probably broken. My left arm seemed to be broken as well in the middle of my forearm. I must have landed on my left side…

I looked around and saw the burning wreckage of the plane not too far away. And a figure… silhouetted by the inferno.

I slowly started towards the figure, limping badly and using my good arm to lean against trees for support. As I slowly made my way to him, I could feel the blood running down my face, arm, and leg.

I realized just how badly I was hurt… if I didn't get help soon I could very easily die…

That thought made me will myself to move faster. I did NOT want to die here. When I was close enough to see who the figure was I stopped, leaning against a tree for support.

"N…Nick…" I barely managed to choke out his name. I coughed again and felt blood dribble down my chin.

He looked around for a second before he saw me. I saw his eyes widen as he was frozen with shock for a moment. I took an unsteady step toward him but my strength finally gave out. I felt my knee buckle under me and I fell forward, unable to catch myself.

I closed my eyes, expecting to feel my face smack the hard ground, but instead I felt arms go around me as I fell against a muscled body. The arms supported me as some strength returned to my good leg. I forced myself to stand on one leg as I opened my eyes. I found myself staring into eyes as black as night, full of worry, fear, and relief.

"Max!" he cried as he hugged me.

I couldn't stop a yelp of pain from leaving me. He loosened his hold and saw my arm.

"Shit! Max I'm sorry!"

"It's ok…" I mumbled. I think I was staring to pass out.

"I have to get you to help…" he said as he picked me up bridal style.

He held me close to his chest, my left side (which was hurt the worst) resting against him. But I wasn't in any pain anymore. Ok well not as much pain. I let my head rest against his shoulder as he began to walk. The slow rocking motion he was making was starting to lull me to sleep.

* * *

><p>"Stay with me Max…"<p>

I barely heard his voice. I forced my eyes open. He had stopped walking, apparently a while ago…

"Where are we…?" I slurred. Damn did my head hurt…

"Almost back to the lake were James and Liz and Jen are waiting for us." He said as he started walking again.

"Ok…" I said as my eyes started to close again.

"Max keep talking to me. You stopped breathing last time you started to fall asleep. I almost couldn't wake you up."

"Wha…?" was all I could manage.

"You said you like to play football right? How good are you?" he asked as he walked a little faster.

"I… I was the captain in high school…"

"Really? Were you really that good or did everyone else just suck?"

I think he was smirking a bit there.

"Stop being an ass…" I coughed and saw blood stain his shirt by my mouth. If he saw or felt it, which he probably did, he didn't react. "We were state champs four years in a row…"

"So you were that good. Well you're still gunna have to try out in a few weeks if you want to make the team."

I started to laugh but ended up coughing and choking on blood.

Did he really think I would be able to try out for the football team after this?

"Hang in there… we're almost there…" he said speeding up more.

* * *

><p>I was barely conscious by the time he carried me out of the woods. From what I could see though there was a pickup truck parked about half way down the shore from us and four people were standing around it. One of them saw us and started running towards us. Nick jogged to meet them, still carrying me. The other three people followed the first's lead.<p>

Once they were close enough I realized three of them I knew. James, Liz, and Jen. The other guy I didn't know… he was older than us, maybe thirty.

"Nick!" James half shouted when he finally met up with us, Liz and Jen were right behind him. "You found her!"

They looked relieved, until they saw all the blood that was covering me and probably Nick as well.

"Oh god is she…?" James asked, a look of a cross between horror and grief on his face.

I turned my head towards them, wincing a bit at the pain it caused, and gave a weak smile.

"It'll take more than that to finish me off…" I said. My voice sounded weak to my own ears.

They all gave some sort of cry of relief before the man spoke up.

"We had better get you to a hospital. I can take you in my truck. I saw your plane going down and came out here to see if I could help."

"It's a good thing you did… thank you." Nick said.

"Let's go then, the sooner we get her help the better." The guy said heading for his truck. "There's no room up in the cab for everyone, and it'd probably be better if she were stretched out more, so can one of you ride in the bed with her?"

"I'll do it." Nick said as he followed him.

After a few minutes of rearranging Nick climbed into the back of the truck and sat down, leaning against the back of the cab, holding me in his lap. James and the girls got into the cab with the guy.

In no time we were hurtling down the mountain roads. We were bouncing around so much that every time we hit a huge bump Nick's butt left the floor of the truck bed.

Most of the ride down the mountain is just a big blur… I think the thing I remember most was the look on Nick's face every time his butt smacked back down against the bed floor. If I hadn't been in so much pain I would have laughed my ass off.

The next thing I knew the truck was on the freeway. As we traveled down the road a wave of pain shot through me. I tried not to make a sound but apparently I failed because Nick held me closer asking what hurt. I couldn't even answer him the pain was so bad. Without warning I started to cry. I didn't know why I was crying. He just held me closer, asking what was wrong.

"I…" it hurt even to speak.

"I don't want to die…" the words were out of my mouth before I had even known I had said… hell even realized I thought them. The realization of what those words meant made me cry more.

"You're not going to die." He said firmly.

He rested my head against his shoulder and rested his head on mine. While he held me with one arm he stroked my hair with the other. He whispered things like 'it's going to be alright' to me, trying to sooth me.

I stopped crying a long time later, I was finally exhausted. My eyes started to close and things started to sound like they were really far away. I think Nick was calling my name… I'm not sure though.

My eyes finally closed and I was surrounded by darkness.

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><p><strong>Remember, REVIEW! PREETY PLEASE!<strong>

**~D.S.I.T.N**


	7. Dr Batchelder

**Hey guys I'm back! And I feel loved again! Thank you everyone who reviewed! And sorry I didn't reply to most of you, I've only had internet through my phone the past like three weeks. My home internet is still down, and I'm only able to post at school right now. **

**Ok enough of me talking…er… typing I should say, on to the story!**

* * *

><p><strong>Nick PoV<strong>

"Max! Wake up!" I shook her, trying not to hurt her worse then she already was.

Her eyes were closed and she wasn't moving.

"What's going on?" James asked through the open back window of the cab.

"She won't wake up!" I was trying not to panic, but it seemed I was failing.

I heard James ask how long until we got to the hospital, but I didn't hear the guy reply.

"Five minutes! We're almost there." James told me through the window.

I nodded and kept trying to wake Max up. But nothing I did was working…

After a few tries of lightly slapping her she came to, but just barely. She mumbled something I didn't catch at first, I tried to ask her what she said but she was losing consciousness again.

"Max… come on stay with me…" I slapped her lightly again.

"Ow…" she mumbled.

"Keep talking Max, you have to stay awake." I said sitting her up more.

"Sleepy…" she murmured, her head falling sideways to rest against my chest.

"No, sit up, you can sleep later." I held her head up with one hand, cupping her cheek.

She struggled to stay awake as the truck pulled off the highway. I kept her talking, about what popped into my head. The sky, the wind, grass, hell even paint at one point, anything to keep her talking.

She passed out again right as we pulled into the emergency area of a hospital. I had no idea what town we were in or what the name of this hospital was. But it didn't matter.

As soon as the truck stopped I jumped out with her in my arms, not jostling her around at all when I landed. I practically ran into the emergency room and once they saw the amount of blood on Max and myself, I was surrounded by nurses and doctors. They led me into a room and had me set her on the bed. After I told them what had happened they shoved me out of the room and back out into the waiting area. James and the others were there waiting for me.

"Is she going to be ok…?" Jen asked, her voice sounded small, like she was afraid if she talked she was going to start crying.

"I don't know… they just threw me out of the room back out here without saying anything…" I told her.

I looked around for the guy who had driven us here, but I didn't see him.

"Where's that guy?" I asked.

"Jacob?" Liz said. "He took off after we got out of the truck before we could thank him…"

I sighed a bit and pretty much just fell into a chair. The others sat down as well and no one said anything. There was a seriously dense atmosphere of despair and worry hanging around us. It almost could literally be seen hanging around us.

A long time later someone came out and asked who we were waiting for. I told her and asked if she knew anything. She left us to go check, and didn't come back.

We sat in the waiting room for hours before we heard any news about her. A nurse finally came out and brought us to a different waiting room. She told us that Max was in surgery and it would be a long time before she was out. So we sat in this new waiting room for four more hours.

A guy in scrubs came in as he was taking off a face mask and a hat thing.

"Are you guys here for the girl in the plane crash?" he asked as he walked over to us.

I stood up nodding.

"We did everything we could,"

I think my heart just about stopped when he said that.

"But we can't do anything more for her here. We're going to air lift her to St. Janes hospital in Sawearo County in California. It's about a two and half hour flight, but it's faster than an ambulance."

First thing I realized:

We were in Nevada.

I mentally smacked myself for getting that first.

Second thing I realized:

Max was alive.

I was so relieved…

"One of you can go in the helicopter with her, it would be helpful for the pilots and the EMT on bored that she didn't freak out if she woke up. The helicopter will be here in fifteen minutes, so decide fast."

I barely had time to look at the others before they said "Nick goes."

Before I could say anything the doctor stared walking away, talking to us over his shoulder.

"Alright then. I'll take you guys up to her room."

We all followed him to an elevator. It was huge on the inside, so we had plenty of room. We went up to the top floor and down a few halls before he opened a door to a room. Inside Max was lying on a bed, hooked up to more machines then I could count. There were so many tubes going into her… seeing her like this broke my heart…

"I'll be back in about ten minutes to take you up to the roof." The doctor said as he left.

James and the girls went to her bedside and just kind of stood there. James hesitated a second, then he held Max's hand. I don't know why, but for some reason I didn't like that. I said nothing though. I was just standing off to the side of the door, lost in my thoughts.

I didn't even notice the time pass, because the next thing I knew the doctor had come back and was shooing them out of the room.

Before he left James kissed her forehead.

I asked them how they were getting back and Jen told me they had called a friend to come and pick them up.

I nodded as the elevator door closed. It lurched up for about ten seconds before it stopped and the doors opened. They wheeled Max's gurney out on to the roof just as a helicopter was landing. A guy jumped out and helped load her into the chopper. The second I had climbed in we took off. I was knocked off my feet into my seat as the wind made the copter turn suddenly. I strapped myself down, making sure the buckle was right. The noise was deafening, but I hardly heard it. I reached out and held her hand as we flew through the sky.

We hit a spot of turbulence that made everything bounce around. Downside to this: it was scary as fuck since I had just jumped out a plane today.

Upside: it seemed to wake Max up.

She squeezed my hand tightly as the turbulence ended. I looked over at her and saw her eyes were open part way. She was just staring at the ceiling until I squeezed her hand back. She slowly looked over at me, all her movements seemed sluggish. She smiled a bit when she saw me, but I wasn't really sure if it was me she seeing… or something her mind made up…

She had this strange look in her eyes, a cross between far off and focused. I know that doesn't make any sense but I don't really know how to explain it.

The EMT noticed she was awake and started checking things on monitors and asking her to do things. She didn't even seem to hear him because she just kept looking at me.

He kept trying to get her attention but she wouldn't respond to him at all. She looked back towards the ceiling and closed her eyes again. I wasn't sure if she was still awake or not.

When the helicopter finally landed at the hospital it took less than five seconds to get her and me off it. As soon as we were off it took off again. The doctors who were waiting for us on the roof quickly took Max into the elevator and down to the floor where all their operating rooms were.

A nurse took me to a waiting room and I just sat there for hours. James called to let me know that they had made it back to our schools dorms. He had let the director of our school know what had happened to Max, but he didn't know what hospital we were at. Apparently he couldn't remember it.

I told him the name and hung up.

Night had fallen by the time anyone came in to the waiting room. And I was STARVING. A nurse brought a tray of food in for me and left without a word. I ate it so fast the door had barely closed by the time I was done. After that I just waited. And waited. And waited.

I must have fallen asleep at one point because the next thing I knew the moon was starting to set. I groaned and got up, stretching my back. A guy I recognized walked into the room and I couldn't help but smile a little bit.

"Dr. Batchelder! You work here?" I asked.

"Just started here today actually. Funny seeing you here Nick, another one of my old patients is here as well." He sighed a bit, "I don't know what she's gotten into. One of the nurses told me it was a plane crash after I saved her life in the OR- … Damn shouldn't have said that much. Braking the patient confidentiality laws again…"

"… her name wouldn't happen to be Max Ride would it…?" There was no way. Just no fucking way we had the same doctor and he had just saved her life.

"…Yes. You know her?" There was a strange look in his eyes.

"Yeah… I flew in on the helicopter with her…"

"Interesting…" he said. He still had that look in his eyes… I didn't like that at all.

"Weird coincidence huh?" I asked trying to make my voice sound light.

"Indeed. So, I can take you back to go see her now if you want."

"Really? Thank you!" I was still really worried about her.

He led me out of the waiting room and down to the elevator. We went up a few floors and then he took me down a few halls through a few sets of double doors.

He stopped in front of an office door. "I need to grab something first, would you mind helping me?"

"Sure…" I did NOT like this. Every fiber of my body was yelling at me to run. But I trusted him… Somewhat.

He unlocked the door and went inside. I followed him. The room was pitch black and the door closed behind me. I muttered a curse, reaching out to try and find a wall.

Instead, all I felt was a needle being jammed into my neck and the burn of something being forced into my blood stream.

After that, I felt nothing, heard nothing, saw _**nothing**_.

* * *

><p><strong>Sorry almost all my chapters are cliffies! I have a really hard time finding a decent place to end them!<strong>

**So until I post again,**

**D.S.I.T.N **


	8. MINI: Snack Chapter

**Hello hello!**

**I'm back~!**

**I know I just posted the other day, (not that any of you mind, I'm sure.) but I decided to post again!**

**My birthday is the 10****th**** and I'm not going to be able to post for about two weeks so I thought I'd give you a little "Snack" to tie you over until I post again. **

**I have dubbed this a mini chapter because it is less than 1,000 words. **

**Enjoy your snack!**

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><p>Max PoV<p>

After swimming in blissful darkness for God knows how long I slowly started to ascend to consciousness.

First thing I felt: PAIN

Blinding pain all over my body. I felt like a semi-truck had hit me then a plane fell on me.

I opened my eyes, and immediately shut them. The light was BLINDING. It hurt like a bitch.

"Ow…" I mumbled.

I heard someone chuckle nearby.

"Just 'ow'?" a guy's voice asked.

I opened my eyes again, blinking at the sun light filtering in the window. After a minute the room came into focus. I familiar dark haired boy with obsidian eyes sat in a chair beside my bed.

"Nick… where am I…? What happened…?" I asked groggily.

"You don't remember?" he asked concerned, leaning closer to me.

"We were up in the plane and…" everything came back to me at once. The Erasers attacking the plan, Nick, James, Liz, and Jen jumping out over the lake, the crash… And a few fragments afterwards of Nick carrying me and being in a truck bed… "Oh God…"

"It's ok Max; everything's going be alright now. The others are all ok thanks to you." He said taking hold of my hand.

I thought that was kind of weird, I mean he was still dating Macy and he didn't seem like the kind of guy to cheat or even hold another girl's hand… but I kinda liked it.

We talked for a bit before a doctor came in, but while we were talking I noticed a line going from the corner of his mouth curving up to under his eye. It almost looked like a scar… but that couldn't be what it was. My eyes were just playing tricks on me.

The doc checked me over and looked at all the monitors and machines I was hooked up to. Then he removed the blanket that I was laying under and I realized I only had pants on. My chest was wrapped in bandages that were stained with blood in some areas. I blushed a bit as he unwound them. Nick looked away as my chest was exposed.

"Good, you're healing well, not a sign of infection." The doctor said.

I recognized his voice, but it couldn't be. I hadn't seen my doctor in years! Not since my operation…

"So when can she be discharged Dr. Batchelder?" Nick asked.

"Tomorrow if you want Max." Dr. Batchelder said.

I looked at his face for the first time, really looked, and I knew it was him. The surprise must have shown on my face because he chuckled.

"Yes it's been quite a long time since we last met. Ironic we would meet again this way."

I didn't say anything. I looked down at my chest and saw the scares from where a surgeon, most likely Dr. B here, had operated on me.

"… How long was I out for…?" I asked as I pulled the blanket up to cover my chest.

"About a day. The operation ended at 7:56pm two days ago." Dr. B told me as he handed me a shirt.

I slipped it on and told Nick he could look again, (though in think he might have been looking the whole time).

"That makes sense…" I said doing the math in my head. I heal way faster than the average human.

Nothing else really exciting happened for the rest of the day.

* * *

><p>?PoV<p>

I woke up strapped down to a table. I pulled at my restraints trying to get free. It was useless though. I looked around; the room was whitewash with a window looking into a hallway. The only thing I could think about was Max. That asshole had injected me with something…

A guy in a white lab coat came into the room and started moving stuff around. I tried to ignore him after he hadn't responded to my demands to be released. I looked out the window and saw to big hairy wolf guys dragging a girl who looked almost exactly like… me.

Her long hair was almost a darker black than mine, the same with her eyes. They were a dark, dark black, with just a tint of purple.

She fought them as she was dragged down the hall, and she was strong, I could see that. But the wolf guys were stronger. She happened to look in the window and see me.

Her eyes flashed a bright purple for a second then went back to how they were. She fought harder to get away from the guys. They hit her to try and make her stop. One hit her on the head so hard her head snapped to the side.

She stopped struggling but screamed so loud it was able to be heard in the room I was in.

"NICK!"

How did she know my name? I didn't even know her.

The white coat came alongside my table.

"Ah, seems experiment 64 recognizes you, even though she hasn't seen you in six years."

What? What the hell was this guy talking about? The next thing I knew he jammed a needle into my arm and injected me with something.

I started to pass out as the guy picked a scalpel up from a tray.

Just as I lost consciousness, a name popped into my mind.

Rebecca.

* * *

><p><strong>O. o<strong>

**Is that really Nick with Max?**

**Who's Experiment 64?**

**Who's this Rebecca?**

**Why am I asking these questions?**

**Who really knows?**

**Max: … You're starting to sound like host from Total Drama Island.**

**Nick: …And you know this…?**

**Max: … No reason…**

**Nick: Lies.**

**Max: Ok so I get bored!**

**Nick: *lolz***

**Iggy: Hey am I ever gunna get in this story?**

**Me: Who says you're not already in it?**

**Iggy: … Wait what?**

**?: Hey Why am I— *Fang appears behind them, covers their mouth and drags them away kicking and screaming***

**Nick, Max, Iggy: … WTF?**

**Nick: I think that was Experiment 64…**

**Max: That was just strange…**

**Me: Are you guys finished?**

**Iggy: IDK**

**Nick: Do you always talk in questions?**

**Me: I don't know do I? **

**Nick: …**

**Max: *lolz***

**Me: ALL these questions will be answered…! **

**When the time is right. Some in the next chapter so,**

**Keep an eye out!**

_**~D.S.I.T.N.**_


	9. The Switch

**I'm back~~! **

**Here's the next chapter guys! Just in time for Thanksgiving!**

**But no its not themed. **

**So I'm feeling kind of generous and thankful (lol) so I've decided that I will answer one (1) question from anyone who reviews this chapter! **

**It can be about myself or the story.**

**You can ask more than one but I'm only gunna answer one.**

**And if some answers are really vague it's because I don't want to give away too much that's gunna come in later chapters. **

**I will post the answers in my next post along with the question and who asked it.**

**So ask away!**

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><p>Max PoV<p>

Today was Tuesday; I had been back from the hospital for a week now.

I had gone back to classes as normal, or as normal as I could be when everyone kept bombarding me with questions about how I was doing and how I had survived the crash.

And then my parents freaking out and trying to pull me out of school. I fought them and won in the end.

So now I was opening the door to my shared room and flopped down on my bed. I was alone in the room so everything was quiet. I had left the door open so I threw my shoe at it. It swung shut almost all the way, but didn't shut. I threw my other shoe but missed.

I groaned as I got up and walked to the door. I had just grabbed the handle when someone opened it from the other side. Nick was standing there.

I jumped a tiny bit, not having heard him come down the hall.

He chuckled, "Hey, you up for a bike ride?"

I thought for a minute.

"Sorry, but I've got a lot of homework I need to get down. My professors don't seem to care that almost died a week ago."

He chuckled again.

"You sure? I could always help you when we get back."

"… Ok fine. Just let me finish this set of equations for Prof. Gibbs. He wants us to calculate the trajectory angel of a 9mm bullet if it was to travel 92 meters before hitting a target." I said writing quickly.

"Jeez what class are you taking?" he asked after being silent for a moment.

"An algebra class."

"…then why—"

"He's an ex-Marine. Apparently his mind is still there 'cause a lot of the problems we do somehow relate to guns or the military."

"…strange. Glad I don't have him."

"Aren't you taking the same course as me?" I asked as I slipped the paper into a folder.

"Yeah but I have Prof. David."

"Lucky. I heard she makes the class easy."

We walked out the door and I turned to lock it.

"No, it's the exact opposite. Her class is probably the hardest one I've ever taken. That's why I'm in it again." He said as we entered the stair well.

We talked about our classes all the way down to the parking lot.

He got the bike ready as I got my helmet out of his car. Same as every other time he'd taken me out on the bike he sped out of the parking lot. Therefore I was forced to have a death grip around his waist to avoid falling off.

We rode for about a half hour before he pulled on to a gravel road. I instantly knew where he was taking me.

We ended up back in the little clearing he had taken me to the first day I had met him. We sat on the rock again and talked for awhile.

I was only half paying attention though. I was too distracted by all the thoughts flying through my mind.

Nick had been acting weird ever since I got back from the hospital… and I wasn't the only one who had noticed.

His roommate Derek had told me earlier that day that he had been keeping to himself when they were both in the room, and that he had been sneaking out in the middle of the night.

Even Macy had noticed (a miracle I know. I was afraid the world was going to end). Apparently she had talked to Derek about the change in her boyfriend.

A loud crack made both of us jump and it pulled me out of my thoughts. I looked around, searching for what made the noise.

"I'm gunna go look around and see if I can find what made that noise…" Nick said as he stood up.

"Be careful…" I said, staying seated.

He disappeared into the forest around the clearing. I waited a minute then followed him, as silent as a whisper.

* * *

><p>3PoV<p>

Max follow Nick through the forest, always making sure to stay at least fifteen feet away. For twenty minutes he walked, and for twenty minutes she followed. He wasn't looking for something. No. he knew where he was going.

He walked into the center of another clearing.

She hid in the trees on the edge, being sure to stay out of sight yet still able to see most of the clearing before her.

He waited.

But not for long.

A jeep driven by a large, heavily muscled man drove down a small path and stopped a few feet in front of him.

The driver got out and pick something up out of the back of the jeep.

She couldn't tell what it was though.

He laid it on the ground and spoke to Nick.

"His memories been wiped. He'll remember walking out here and something hitting him on the head when he wakes up. Then he'll return to the girl."

"Good." Nick said, sighing a bit. "I'm going to miss being this close to her…"

"Get over it and get in the truck." The man said flatly.

Nick sighed again as he climbed into the jeep.

Max gasped and stepped back from shock as she realized it was a person lying on the ground.

Her foot snapped a stick in two, the crack echoing almost off every tree. Both Nick and the man froze, their eyes scanning the trees.

She stumbled back and ran, praying that she wasn't making a lot of noise.

She made it back to the clearing and collapsed onto the rock, panting hard. Even with her inhuman speed and endurance, she was still winded.

Her mind was racing, trying to process everything she had just seen.

Minutes passed, she started to calm down, to catch her breath.

She closed her eyes for a second, trying to relax some.

Rustling came from the trees.

Her eyes shot open and she immediately jumped up, crouching low to the ground, her fight or flight response sending adrenalin flooding through her veins.

A moment later, Nick stumbled out of the trees.

* * *

><p><strong>Sorry it's a little short compared to the other chapters, but I've got writers constipation. It's in there but it won't come out.<strong>

**If you got questions ask away!**

**Until next time,**

**~D.S.I.T.N.**


	10. Tryouts

**Hello my readers!**

**So I had some good questions asked and I've been in an unusually good mood lately.**

**So I will now answer all the questions that were asked!**

**Live In Today:** _**So, the Nick was Fang and the person they just delivered was Nick Nick. Right?**_

**All I will say, is read and find out.**

**Weelich: **_**Hmmm... question, question, question. It has to be **__**a good one, I imagine. :) I could ask, "how many Nick's are there," which, of course, leads to the question, are Nick and Fang truly the same people? Of course, that wouldn't be possible, since Fang was outside the plane while Nick was inside before it crashed. What in the fructose did Fang inject her with, **__**and of course why? Was it something to make her stop remembering, to start forgetting again? Why does Max seem to not remember Angel? O.O Is Angel behind all of this? **__**Oh, and is this loosely based off of anything, or is this idea all yours?**_

**Hm… well as of right now there are only 2 "Nicks". **

**What did Fang inject her with? Well it was a cocktail of chemicals, both natural and artificial, that is designed to stop her suppressed memories from returning. It will be introduced again later in the story and then you will know its name. As to your questions about Angel, Max's memories of her are the ones most severely suppressed. And if I told you whether she was really behind it or not would ruin some great parts to come.**

**As for the idea for this story, I remembered reading a story when I was just staring out on FanFic where the flock was split up before they left the labs and Max, Fang, and Iggy all ended up going to the same college or high school. I haven't been able to find the Fic again so I don't know if my story is even close to it, so I'm going to say for the most part this story is all my idea.**

**Candycanelover: **_**How old are you/which grade are you in? Is there, like, a clone of Fang/Nick, like the real Fang that has wings, then a clone that doesn't have wings called Nick? Lastly, Max supposedly has wings, right? Hidden wings, or something?**_

**How old am I? Well I turned 15 last month right after my last post and I'm a freshmen in High School. As for the other two questions, all will be revealed in time. Including the true identity of Nick, Fang, James, and the mysterious Experiment 64.**

**Now onto the story!**

* * *

><p>Max PoV<p>

"Nick!" I quickly got up and went over to him. He seemed to be really disoriented.

My mind was still reeling after what I had seen. The body on the ground must have been Nick… but that didn't make any sense!

Nick had gotten in the jeep with that guy… but were there two of them?

What the fuck was going on!

I looked at this Nick closely, trying to see any little detail that was different.

A realization hit with the force of a truck.

This Nick had no line coming from the corner of his mouth, not even the faintest trace of one.

The Nick who had been with me this week was really…

_Fang_…

"Are you ok?" I asked him.

"Yeah… just hit my head…" He had his hand pressed to the side of his head.

After a minute he seemed to be ok. Back to his normal self. He checked his phone for the time.

"We had better head back, it's getting late and you still have work to do right?"

"Yeah, ok."

We headed back to his bike and were on the road in less than a minute.

We didn't speak until we got back to the school parking lot and he was throwing the tarp over his bike.

"Are you sure you're ok…?" I ask. I was still really weirded out and worried.

"Yeah, I'm fine." He smiled a bit at me as we headed for the door of the building. "Don't worry."

That, of course, made me worry more.

Things seemed to have gone back to normal now…

No one talked about the plane crash anymore, and Nick seemed to be ok.

Football tryouts were today at 2 so I spent the morning warming up by running around the town. I had my ear buds in as I ran so the rest of the world was at the back of my mind, so I could be lost in my own thoughts and focus on running.

I was on my third lap around the town when I ran into someone I knew.

I was half way through the park when a soccer ball came flying at my head.

I caught it as I slid to a stop on the slightly wet grass. I looked over in the direction the ball had come from and saw a bunch of guys from my schools soccer team on the field. A familiar strawberry blond haired boy was running towards me.

I couldn't help but smile.

"Hey James! Lose your ball?" I tossed it to him and he bounced it off his head straight up into the air.

"Thanks Max!" he called as he spun around and kind the ball back to the field.

His team (I'm assuming it was his since they all were wearing some shade of blue and the other team all had some shade of red on) got it and proceeded to score a goal.

"You wanna play a round with us? We need another player to make it even and you are wearing blue." He smiled a little when he said that.

It was true that I was wearing a dark blue tank top, and they did need another player. So I nodded.

"Sure, I need to warm up for football this afternoon anyway." I grinned a bit as we headed to the field.

I took off my iPod and put it at the base of a tree before I joined in the game.

We ended up playing five games. Every time Blue kicked Red's ass by at least 20 points. **(A/N: if anyone knows Team Fortress Two and gets why the teams are those colors, I LOVE YOU!)**

I was barely sweating as I went to get my iPod, where as everyone else (except James for some reason) had buckets coming off them.

"So are you heading to try outs now?" James asked behind me.

I stood up straight slipping my iPod in my pocket.

"Yeah, I've gotta walk so I'd better get going."

"I can give you a ride, I was planning on heading over there anyways, you know, just scoping out the competition." We both laughed a bit and I accepted his offer.

He left to go pull his car around to the front of the park as I walked towards said place. The park really was peaceful today, hell the whole day seemed peaceful.

There wasn't a cloud in the sky and a pleasant breeze blew every once in a while. It just seemed like nothing could go wrong.

I froze for a second when I thought that. Looking at my past, it was days like these that everything went wrong, down to the last. Fucking. Detail.

I groaned a bit and made my way to the street just as James pulled up in his silver Nissan Altima. He reached over and pushed the door open from inside the car for me.

I chuckled as I got in and closed the door. "Well aren't you a gentleman?"

"Hey being courteous can get you far in life." He said as he pulled away from the curb and joined the noontime traffic, which means there wasn't any.

"So how do you think you're going to do at tryouts?" He asked, keeping his eyes on the road like a good driver.

"I don't know… I'm hoping I'll do good… but this day is giving me some bad omens."

He glanced at the sky. "What do you mean? It's a perfect day."

"Exactly. It's days like this when my life take a nose dive down a shit hole straight to Hell."

"… wow. Well maybe today will be different."

I don't know what it was exactly, but there was something in his voice that made me look over at him.

His eyes were still fixed on the road and he was smiling slightly, but he was nervous.

I couldn't help but wonder what it was that was making him so nervous that his knuckles were white from squeezing the steering wheel too tightly.

I got my answer only a few blocks later.

"So… d'you have any plans next Friday?"

I swear to god my heart stopped for a few beats.

_Is he really asking me out?_ It thought in the second my heart stopped.

"Not really, just a date with my Chem. Textbook."

… _Did I really just say a lame joke like that?_

It must not have been too bad because he laughed a little.

"Well if you're willing to cancel your date with a textbook I've got two front section tickets and backstage passes to the Disturbed concert."

"Really? That's awesome! I love Disturbed!" I was so excited I was practically vibrating. I always got like this when someone mentioned one of my favorite bands and/or taking me to one of their concerts.

"Really? I haven't met many girls who like them, or have even heard of them." I could tell he was relieved.

"I've always been into the harder stuff most girls hate. I don't get how a lot of people like stuff like rap. I mean there's a few good rappers like Eminem but most just say a bunch of stuff that's degrading." I was starting to babble…

"… I have never met another girl like you. You're awesome." He looked over at me, grinning as I blushed.

He looked back at the road, "So, I'll pick you up at 6? The concert starts at 7 and it'll take a bit to get there and inside."

"That sounds like a good plan." I smiled as he pulled into the parking lot by the sports fields.

We got out of the car and walked to the field were the football guys were converging.

All the time we walked all I could think was _oh my god I'm going on a date with James on Friday!_

We met up with Nick on the sidelines.

"Hey Max, James." He smiled when he saw us.

"S'up." James said as he bumped fists with Nick.

"Max if you're planning on playing you had better go find some pads that fit." Nick was already in full gear, minus his helmet.

"Oh, yeah, right. Uh… where…?" I asked, mentally cursing myself for blushing.

He chuckled and pointed over toward an equipment shed.

I thanked him and went to the shed. Inside was full of old football pads and equipment. I found a set of protective pads that fit me and ran back over to Nick and James, pulling my mouth guard case out of my back pocket.

We talked for a bit as I stretched my arms.

The coaches called Nick over, leaving me alone with James.

A slightly awkward silence fell between us.

Thankfully the coaches blew the whistle and tryouts began.

* * *

><p><strong>Well that's the end of another chapter. I'll answer more questions in my next post if anyone has some! and yess all will be answered!<strong>

**~ D.S.I.T.N.**


	11. Date Night

**Holy crap… ten chapters already and the real story hasn't even started yet! I've gotta pick up the pace!**

**There's gunna be a major time jump next chapter, FYI.**

* * *

><p>Tryouts were a piece of cake. At least the beginning was.<p>

We did some basic warm ups and time trials (all of which I did best in).

Then, we got to the team on team. We all split off into two teams and played a whole game. Nick and a few others weren't playing, but I didn't think much of it.

**(A/N: I know next to nothing about football, so if I get something wrong please say something, so I don't continue to look like an idiot please! I'm getting all my info off Wikipedia…)**

Each of us was given a card with a position on it. My team got offensive, much to their delight, and I was the Wide Receiver.

_Not too bad _I thought as we got into a huddle.

The QB told us the play after learning who was what position. It was as simple as it could get really.

Since it was just a practice for tryouts, all they wanted us to do was the whole object of the game.

Get the ball to the right side of the field.

I sighed as we got into position and the QB called hike.

I took off down the field towards the other team's end zone, weaving in and out of the oncoming players. Before they knew it I was already past them and open to receive.

The QB still had the ball and was about to get his ass pounded into the ground when he finally noticed me. He threw it right before he went down and it went wide.

So I ran for it. I dashed across the width of the field and farther toward the end zone as the ball fell to earth. While it was still about 20 feet off the ground I jumped.

My momentum was enough to carry me far enough to get it and land on my feet. The closest players were stunned. I took advantage of this and jogged the ball into the end zone.

The coach blew the whistle, ending the play.

We switched positions, but stayed offence/defense.

This time I was a Tight End.

We lined up and the QB hiked. Again we all ran around waiting for him to throw. He threw it to the other TE, who was an idiot apparently, because he started to run the wrong way.

I got close enough to him and shouted at him to throw me the ball right before he got tackled by two guys. The ball went up in the air and I jumped for it.

I managed to catch it and took off as fast as I could down the field in the _right_ direction.

_50 yards_

A guy came charging at me. I jumped aside at the last second as he barreled past.

_40 yards_

Another came at me from the side and I didn't have enough time to dodge. I spun around as he hit me, shaking off the impact as a glancing blow.

_30 yards_

I started dodging guys left and right, jumping over the ones who went for my legs and doing my best duck the rest.

_20 yards_

I just kept running.

_10 yards_

I was almost there… but I had the biggest guy coming at me. He was hunched over, aiming for my middle. Just before he hit me I jumped like a long jumper, sailing right over him and into the End Zone.

The whistle blew, ending the play. The coach called a break and I pulled off my helmet as I headed towards the water coolers.

I shook out my hair and grabbed a cup of water, downing it in a second.

All the guys were staring at me. Not surprising. After a few minutes the coach, Nick, and a few other guys came over.

"Ride, that was impressive." The coach said. "You've got some skill carrying, but can you throw?"

"Yes sir." I said drinking another cup of water.

"Well then let's see it. You're playing Quarterback next play." After that the coach walked away.

"I knew you were good Max, but damn I didn't know you were that good." Nick said, I could hear some awe in his voice.

"At my high school I had to be good or I wouldn't have made it." I said chuckling.

He looked like he wanted to say something but then the coach blew the whistle and we ran back out onto the field. We got back into teams and got our positions. As coach had said I was playing Quarterback.

As soon as the ball was hiked I backed up, looking for someone who was open. The only one who was though was way down the field, farther than most players would have been able to throw. But I'm not most players.

I chucked the ball just as I got tackled by the biggest guy on the other team. And boy did it hurt. He knocked all the air out of my lungs as he landed on my chest. As the guy got up I sucked air back into my lungs.

I sat up and saw the ball still sailing through the air in a perfect spiral. Several seconds later the ball landed in the arms of the guy at the end of the field and he ran it into the end zone.

The whistle blew and the play ended. I got up as Nick and the coach came over.

"I'm impressed Ride. Very impressed. You'll go far on this team." The coach said.

* * *

><p>Six days later the team roster was posted. I literally ran down all the stairs the morning it was first posted and was the first one down there. I scanned the list quickly and found my name under the main team list.<p>

I was thankful afterwards that there was no one else in the lobby because I screamed yes out of excitement. Then I ran all the way back up to my room.

I stopped outside my door I calmed myself, arranging my expression to one of disappointment.

Jen and Liz were waiting for me to tell them if I had made the team, and I just love to screw with people.

I opened the door and slowly shuffled into the room with my head down.

"What happened?" Liz exclaimed as she jumped off her bed and ran to me as I kicked the door shut behind me.

"Don't tell me you didn't make it!" Jen nearly shouted.

I bit back a laugh as I spoke, "No…" I tried to keep my voice low but I was failing.

I could keep the act up any longer and I looked up at my friends with a huge grin.

"I MADE IT!" I shouted, nearly bursting with happiness.

The girls squealed and punched my arms for tricking them.

"You're always playing tricks on us like that!" Liz said in a fake angry voice.

"I can't help it!" I laughed as I flopped back onto my bed.

I glanced at the clock and saw it was already 8 am. I sat up quickly.

"Crap! James is gunna be here in an hour!"

Yes, my date with James was today. And he was picking me up in an hour. It seem really early, but it was a two hour drive out there, and then we had to wait in line, hopefully we'd get there early enough so it wouldn't be too bad… but then we had to wait until 5, when they opened the doors.

I ran into the bathroom and stripped as fast as I could. I turned the shower on and jumped in before the water even had time to warm up. I shivered as the cold water cascaded over my body, goose bumps erupting all over my skin. I washed as the water warmed. I reached around and felt my back. I could fell the two slightly raised lines of scar tissue that ran down my back near my sides. I could also feel two smaller scars that were identical to the larger ones, only these were right next to my spine. The smaller ones where from where my wings had been when I was a kid. Back then I had been able to fly… but now I couldn't. It had been years since then…

I shook my head to clear it and finished showering quickly. Afterwards I dressed in my favorite Disturbed shirt and a pair of dark blue shorts.

I checked the clock and saw I had fifteen minutes left, so I grabbed the blow dryer and tried to dry my hair as best I could.

I managed to get it almost dry when there was a knock at the door. Jen answered it and whoever it was in. I turned off the dryer and put up before opening the door to the bathroom.

James was standing in the middle of the room wearing a red Disturbed shirt and black cargo shorts.

He smiled when he saw me.

"Hey Max, ready to hit the road?"

"Hell yeah." I grinned as I grabbed my little black backpack and we headed for the door.

The car ride was uneventful, and thankfully we had the right idea. We got there and were second in line! We talked with each other and the people in front and behind us until they opened the doors.

When everyone rushed in, we got shoved right up to the front, directly in front of the stage!

The concert ended around midnight, and by then I was exhausted. I stumbled back to James's car and waited for him to get out of the bathroom. I leaned against the side and let out a long breath trying to stay awake.

But, me being me, I couldn't be left alone in peace for a few minutes.

These two big tough guys walked up to me and told me to come with them.

My response: "Hell no."

Apparently they didn't like that, because one grabbed me and tried to pull me away from the car. I promptly flipped him onto his ass and stomped on his man place.

He curled up holding himself and making noises no man should be able to make. The other guy came at me and suffered the same fate as his buddy.

James found me kicking the two morons down the slope of the parking lot and down a steep hill. He just shook his head and led me back to the car.

"You can't be alone for more than a minute without something happening to you can you?" he asked.

"Pretty much." I shrugged.

We hopped in the car and drove back to Clemment, that's the city G.H. Chu was in, and back to Grant Tower. He parked and walked me up to my room. We stopped outside my dorm room I just stood there awkwardly for a moment.

"It was fun, the concert I mean." He said, adding the last part to clarify.

I smiled a bit, seeing how nervous he was.

"Yeah, it was." Considering my face and a good part of my chest was covered in fake blood from one of the song when they had sprayed it over the crowd and I didn't mind it at all, it had been epic as hell.

He made a comment about all the fake blood covering himself and I laughed.

But before I could say anything he did something that I was NOT expecting.

Next thing I knew, James was kissing me.

It's not like it the first time I had kissed a guy, but kissing James was different. I don't know how to describe it… it was like there was a spark of electricity that shot from my lips to my toes. And I liked the feeling.

So I wrapped my arms around his neck and started to kiss him back.

I don't know how long we were kissing, but eventually the door flew open and there was a flash as a camera went off. We sprang apart and I glared at Jen and Liz and they ran back into the room laughing.

I said goodnight to James and gave him a quick kiss before running after the two of them. They didn't make it very far.

* * *

><p><strong>Aw… don't the two of them make a great couple?<strong>

**How long will it last?**

'**til next time (which hopefully won't be that far away…)**

**~D.S.I.T.N**


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